HOOKED: WHEN WANT BECOMES NEED

May 14, 2022 - September 4, 2022

Science Gallery at Emory University launched its inaugural exhibition, HOOKED at historic Pullman Yards in Atlanta’s Kirkwood neighborhood. This free, world-class, interactive experience blended science, art, technology, and design to provide a visually compelling and thought-provoking look at the world of addiction and recovery.

When we examine the world through the lens of addiction, we learn about ourselves through expressions of pleasure, loss, excess, or vulnerability, and gain clarity about the policies, health conditions, and social structures that shape our lives.

Each of us has a personal narrative of addiction, whether as a participant or a witness, whether up close or from a distance. In popular culture—politics, entertainment, education, the press—addiction is often portrayed through simple narratives of good vs. evil or the powerful vs. the weak, while the real tales and effects of addiction are much more complex and may be harder to decipher. Is addiction a moral failing, a crime, or just being human?

We all have habits. A morning cup of coffee, a few hours of gaming, a hit of your favorite drug, a boozy brunch with friends, or a meandering scroll through social media can all offer relaxation, bonding time with others, stimulation, or simply an escape. But being addicted is different. 

When does pleasure take a darker turn? When does our relationship with alcohol, drugs, gaming, or the Internet become compulsive rather than fun? Why do some people get addicted while others don’t? 

Finding answers to these questions requires us to challenge shared beliefs and stereotypes and is the subject of continual research in neuroscience, psychology, and public health. Unpacking addiction involves looking into how society works and how behavior is shaped by internal and external forces like childhood experiences, life’s twists and turns, historical laws, healthcare, poverty, inequality, and our peers.

HOOKED explores the processes of addiction and recovery. It shows how addiction affects all of us, whether personally or through the activities of those we know. HOOKED invites us to consider whether recovery depends on social as well as individual transformation, and places the ideas of participating artists, researchers, and visitors in dialogue with global ideas about the factors that affect our choices and their respective outcomes.

EXPLORE THE EXHIBITS

COLLABORATIONS BETWEEN EMORY RESEARCHERS AND ARTISTS

Behind each exhibit is a story of collaboration and creativity. Faces of HOOKED captures the inception, the process, delivery, and intentions of the exhibits within Science Gallery Atlanta. In these stories, we explore the partnerships between Emory researchers and the talented artists that make this exhibition possible.