Prozac (fluoxetine)
16” x 20”
Acrylic and soap on canvas
2009
$500
Prozac is a selective serotonin reputake inhibitor (SSRI), and the most famous member of a class of antidepressants discovered since 1970. SSRIs are by far the most prescribed antidepressants, almost totally replacing the earlier tricyclics and MAOIs, which often had oppressive side effects, including in the case of MAOIs, the need to abstain from cheese and beer.
Although milder, SSRIs have their own side effects, especially nausea and reduced libido, as well as an often severe withdrawal syndrome, which can precipitate a return to depression. However, withdrawal is a much less common problem with fluoxetine than other SSRIs, making it a popular first choice for treatment.
Although Prozac was not the first SSRI, and is no longer the best-selling antidepressant, it remains the iconic drug for treating clinical depression, and one of only a few psychiatric medications to find its way into popular culture, where it has become a kind of synecdoche for modern psychiatry.
These molecules are rendered as space-filling models, in a natural, low-energy conformation, and displayed from an angle that shows off as much of their structure as possible. The atoms are color-coded, with carbon being black, hydrogen white, oxygen red, nitrogen blue, and fluorine chartreuse. They are painted in artist-quality acrylics, on gessoed canvas
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