A huge sculpture 'Opioid Spoon' was installed in New York: the public is indignant

The sculpture "Opioid Spoon" in New York caused a lot of controversy around itself. Some believe that it will draw public attention to the problem of drug addiction, while others say that it is a danger of this work of "high art". This publication writes New York Post.

The sculpture of a three-meter spoon with a dark brown stain depicting the remains of the prepared drugs was installed on the territory of the new Mountainside Chelsea rehabilitation center on West 18 Street in New York. You can see it from 6 to 22 November, the source said.

According to the director of the drug treatment center, Jason Arseno, the sculpture "gives an idea of ​​how opioid dependence begins with prescription drugs."

The recovering drug addict himself, 43-year-old Arseno, insists that the spoon-shaped sculpture used to make heroin or other opioids in injectable fluids does not force people to seek advice from a rehabilitation center, which, incidentally, has rooms for meditation and games.

However, he adds: “If you can do it in a safe place where you cook it and discuss everything with fellow drug addicts and trainers, it reduces the likelihood of relapse.”

Public response

Locals who are undergoing treatment for drug and alcohol addiction in a nearby Betty Ford clinic have called the idea of ​​installing such a sculpture "crazy." They are skeptical that meeting with a giant spoon will help drug addicts get rid of their habits.

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“You are at the beginning of your recovery. And the first thing you see during rehabilitation is this? No, said 34-year-old chef Danny Hobby. “It's either a trigger or a sign of motivation.”

20-year-old Emil Benifla drew an analogy between the sculpture of an opioid spoon and a bottle of beer with foam flowing down the edges of the glass that is shown to alcoholics.

History of sculpture

The sculpture of activist artist Domenic Esposito was first installed in April at the office of the Department of Health and Human Services in Washington, DC, in protest of the government’s reaction to the country's opioid epidemic.

Esposito also created several other similar giant medicine spoons, including one called Purdue Spoon. It was installed near the headquarters of the manufacturer OxyContin in June 2018, after which it was confiscated by the police.

The sculptor decided to create this work after his own brother had been struggling with opioid addiction for more than 10 years. According to him, this spoon represents the despair that his family fell into after having found the burnt spoons hidden around the house.