Joachim Koester's Microscopic Drug Images Reveal Control Infrastructures at Jan Mot

Joachim Koester's exhibition titled 'The Invisible Index' was held at Jan Mot in Brussels from March 20 to May 29, 2021. The showcase focused on shadow economies through microscopic photography, utilizing scanning electron microscopes to create images of cannabis and cocaine, which were transformed into polar-like landscapes from minute quantities. Works such as Cocaine #3 and Cocaine #5 (2019) portray these substances as products of modern alchemy. Koester explores how these materials represent hidden systems of control. A vitrine displayed his 2008 text 'From the Secret Garden of Sleep' alongside vintage High Times magazines, which examined Ronald Reagan's 1980s cannabis eradication policies that led to underground cultivation advancements. Founded in 1974, High Times transitioned from activism to a successful business, illustrating the mainstreaming of counterculture. Koester's work highlights the moral, legal, and scientific frameworks that govern society.