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This is what ecstasy looks like under a microscope

A former laboratory analyst-turned-artist offers a new, unworldly perspective on drugs

Picture of Stephanie Talmadge
by Stephanie Talmadge
November 23, 2015

GHB crystals under a cross polarization microscope with 100x enlargement.

(Maurice Mikkers)In 2014, a few years after graduating art school, Mikkers began working on Micrograph Stories, a project that reveals a different side of the substances we consume every day

Aspirin crystals after waiting for one hour.

(Maurice Mikkers)After initially experimenting with over-the-counter painkillers and antibiotics, Mikkers got curious about harder drugs, but was unsure how to procure the small samples he ne

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MDMA crystals under 200x enlargement.

(Maurice Mikkers)

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Acetaminophen crystals after waiting for three hours.

(Maurice Mikkers)

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Amphetamine crystals under 40x enlargement.

(Maurice Mikkers)

Diclofenac crystals after waiting for 72 hours.

(Maurice Mikkers)

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Ciprofloxacin crystals after waiting for nine hours.

(Maurice Mikkers)

DMT crystals under 400x enlargement.

(Maurice Mikkers)

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LSD crystals under 40x enlargement.

(Maurice Mikkers)

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2C-B crystals under 200x enlargement.

(Maurice Mikkers)To see more of Maurice Mikkers' work from the "Micrograph Stories" project, visit his website.

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