The book chronicling New York's rave scene through ecstasy pills

«In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I worked as a photographer in New York, covering the rave and clubbing scene. After trying the first E, I was fascinated by the pills and their logos». So Michael Lorenzini tells us about the making of Every Pill I Took: 2000 - 2001, a unique photo collection containing photos of 30 different types of ecstasy pills Michael encountered from June 2000 to the following year. The reason for this? The logos, as Lorenzini himself, explains. «I was fascinated by the branding on the pills, which usually contained the logos of big companies,» he explains when telling us about the book. «I liked the irony of pill manufacturers shoving corporate logos down our throats.»

Pills as the common thread of a work that, in the intention of its creator, is also meant to preserve something that would otherwise be lost, a cross-section of our culture imprinted on tiny panels. «The project was personal in a way, of course, but it was also about documenting this ephemeral art form that no one would keep for the future,» Michael explains. In addition to the ecstasy pills inside the book, Lorenzini also collected other pills in the back that were legal but also branded by pharmaceutical companies to differentiate themselves from the competition. «I started photographing these as well. The result is the project at the back of the book, an image titled 'Interactions, or Every Pill I Took 2000-2001'».

Published by Blurring Books, a publishing company founded by former New York rave scene promoter and DJ DB Burkeman, Every Pill I Took: 2000 - 2001 is available online at blurringbooks.com.