The Other Side of Medicine



In this project, I aim to raise public awareness of drug abuse through data visualization, with a particular focus on the potential impact of drug misuse on human health. In the post-pandemic era, the dependence on and widespread use of painkillers and fever reducers have emerged as concerning social phenomena. Targeting the UK public, this project draws on drug misuse and poisoning reports published by the NHS and ONS to reveal the underlying data structures and social implications of drug use. It visualizes the correlations between different drug categories in terms of prescription frequency, misuse rates, and poisoning cases.In this project, I aim to raise public awareness of drug abuse through data visualization, with a particular focus on the potential impact of drug misuse on human health. In the post-pandemic era, the dependence on and widespread use of painkillers and fever reducers have emerged as concerning social phenomena. Targeting the UK public, this project draws on drug misuse and poisoning reports published by the NHS and ONS to reveal the underlying data structures and social implications of drug use. It visualizes the correlations between different drug categories in terms of prescription frequency, misuse rates, and poisoning cases.
本項目以資料視覺化為核心方法，探討英國後疫情時代愈趨嚴重的藥物濫用與誤用問題。隨着止痛藥、退燒藥及其他常見處方藥在疫情期間被大量依賴，其誤用與中毒風險逐漸成為公共健康的重要議題。本研究整合 NHS 與 ONS 所發布的藥物誤用與中毒統計，從處方頻率、誤用率到中毒案例，分析不同藥物類別之間的結構性關聯。透過數據可視化技術，本項目不僅揭示藥物使用背後的數據邏輯，也呈現當前社會在面對藥物依賴時的文化與制度性脈絡。作品旨在提升公眾對藥物濫用的認知，促使觀者重新審視日常用藥習慣與健康風險之間的微妙張力，並思考數據在理解公共健康問題時所扮演的中介角色。




The final outcome takes the form of a publication and an installation designed as “drug specimens,” inspired by the visual language of pharmaceutical packaging, medical archives, and pharmacy shelves. Through a narrative experience that oscillates between “watching” and “reading,” viewers are invited to perceive the complex and fragile relationship between pharmaceuticals and the human body, and to reconsider the boundaries of medical dependence.

最終成果以出版物與裝置呈現，其形式受到藥品包裝、醫療檔案以及藥房陳列等視覺語彙的啟發，構築出一系列「藥物標本」般的展示方式。透過介於「觀看」與「閱讀」之間的敘事體驗，觀者被引導去感知藥物與身體之間複雜而脆弱的關係，並重新思考醫療依賴的邊界。