Vice, Ritual and the New Nicotine: Panel Discussion

Chaired by Mike Jay, an author, historian and curator whose work spans science, medicine and culture, the discussion will begin with tobacco’s histories across cultures, tracing its shifting associations with pleasure, sociability, vice, work and addiction. Jay, who curated Wellcome Collection’s High Society: Mind-Altering Drugs in History and Culture and has written extensively on drugs and the modern mind, will also consider a more recent transformation: the separation of nicotine, tobacco and smoking into three increasingly distinct spheres, each with its own products, behaviours, markets and cultural meanings.

Mattha Busby, a journalist whose work examines contemporary social issues and possible solutions, will draw on his recent writing for WIRED to explore changing attitudes towards nicotine, health and productivity, from pouches to finance culture and the renewed visibility of nicotine-led products. The exhibiting artists will reflect on the perspectives opened up by their work in the exhibition, considering how smoking, tobacco and nicotine continue to function as charged images within contemporary practice.

Moving between history, contemporary behaviour and artistic practice, the conversation will explore how nicotine circulates through culture: as habit, image, commodity, addiction, affectation and muse. The event will conclude with questions from the audience.

Event Venue

Bompas & Parr, 8 Glasshouse Yard, London, United Kingdom

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