"I created the DockLSD portrait in 2018. The original is 48”x36” and is made with chewed bubblegum. Dock Ellis was an MLB player who pitched a no-hitter for the Pittsburgh Pirates on June 12, 1970 while tripping on LSD.
For decades, the remarkable story of Dock Ellis pitching a
no-hitter while high on LSD circulated mostly in the realm of baseball
journalism. Dock’s drug-induced performance is now well-known thanks in
large part to an animated short that was passed around the Internet,
followed by a feature-length documentary exploring the subject.
By the same token, obscure rumors of the CIA’s clandestine operations
using LSD in experiments involving mind-control on unwitting US
citizens and US military personnel in their top secret MK-ULTRA program
was something that circulated mostly in darkness, woven throughout
nefarious conspiracy theories. Now, those rumors have been confirmed
with the release of previously classified information through the FOIA
(Freedom of Information Act) and the many books that have since been
published on the findings of that information, which revealed detailed
accounts of the dark and torturous applications of LSD by the CIA.
The first time I
took LSD, I was alone, at home, and holed up in my bedroom so my parents
wouldn’t know that I was tripping my brains out. I only ventured
out of my bedroom once to go to the bathroom, and I got stuck for what
seemed like an eternity, staring at myself in the mirror, ignoring the
advice that I was given about not looking at yourself in the mirror
while tripping on acid.
Aside from the
warning about avoiding mirrors, the most helpful bit of wisdom that I
was given before I took LSD was to “set the table you want to sit at.” That basically means that you prepare by getting into a positive
headspace and situating yourself in a familiar, friendly, and
comfortable environment where you can safely spend 10 hours crawling out
of your face.
My advice (shaking a clenched fist...) Open your 3rd eye or I will open it for you!" - Pat Riot
