Some drugs are smarter than other drugs

Pint of science festival 2016 - Creative reactions. Created in response to the work of Dr Muzaffer Kaser at Cambridge University into smart drugs. Photography has long been used to capture and help recall memories of those close to us. I am creating a series of enhanced family portraits; improved using experimental analogue techniques including slit-scan photography and caffenol developer. Smart drugs are also called nootropics - from the Greek for 'mind' and 'to bend or turn'. I have adapted two film cameras to take images whilst film moves past a narrow slit inside the camera. This combination of time and movement enables me to distort the conventional process of portrait photography. I'm testing an unusual film developer too. The main ingredient of the caffenol recipe is one of the most well-known cognitive enhancers - coffee - showing its usefulness beyond keeping us awake.