Sarah Schoenfeld

This article was taken from the April 2014 issue of Wired magazine. Be the first to read Wired's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.

What appear to be microscopic viruses are snapshots of both illegal and legal drugs. Berlin-based photographer Sarah Schoenfeld, 33, created portraits of everything from heroin and speed, to adrenaline and caffeine. "I had this idea to put chemicals on negative [film] and see what happened," Schoenfeld says. She let the substances interact with the colour-sensitive layers and silver embedded in the film and the results feature in her exhibition and book, All You Can Feel. A halo of caffeine illustrates an espresso rush; a turquoise orb of LSD is suspended psychedelically against a purple background; and blueish crystal meth looks as if it were cooked by Walter White.

Schoenfeld's experiences with a medicated family member, and years working in Berlin clubs, made her curious about the power chemicals wield over human behaviour. "Drug culture is not only party drugs, but also medication and understanding how emotions are caused," she says. "These representations are a modern, humorous kind of alchemy."