This is another piece in the series looking into the commodification of suicide. I enjoyed biology in school and was fascinated my the illustrations in our textbooks. The graphic, brightly coloured, yet dated illustrations, brought the workings of the human body to life. For me, it was these drawings and pictures which brought the human body to life, rather than the films or videos we were shown; they had a certain existential quality which mirrored our fluctuating teenage lives which were frequently targeted by external, dynamic forces so often projected through graphic and cartoonish means.
I suppose ‘F9’ is loosely based on the infamous Zyklon B used by the Nazis. I was totally shocked, when I learnt as a young adult that humans would use such a thing on other humans, in such a cold and deliberate fashion. In a way, exploring this also helps me to come to terms with it.
danshawsmith 