under the angel’s trumpet

Posted on by msmlska

this is romina. she is a painter and artist who threw a party in her backyard in long beach around christmas of 2014.

she is grasping a stem from the brugmansia plant … the angel’s trumpet.

 

like romina, the angels trumpet comes from south america.  it is known for its use as a psychedelic and medicinal herb.

 

it is classified as a deliriant.

 

all parts of the plant are considered poisonous…

 

the leaves and seeds are extremely potent and the flower can be made into a tea.

 

shamans have blended it with tobacco or marijuana to balance the effects.  potency is highly unpredictable which makes dosing difficult.

 

the chibchas of pre-conquest bogota gave a fermented maize drink with brugmansia to the wives and slaves of dead warriors and nobleman in order to induce a state of stupor in them before they were buried alive to accompany their husbands and masters on the long trip into the afterlife.

Schultes, R. E. (1980). The Botany and Chemistry of Hallucinogens. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University. p. 270. ISBN 978-0-398-03863-2.

did you know that there are caterpillars known to consume the angel’s trumpet and retain the chemicals which act as a deterrent to make them unpalatable to predators?

Eich, E. (2008). Solanaceae and Convolvulaceae – Secondary Metabolites. Springer. pp. 157–158. ISBN 978-3-540-74540-2.

 

did you know that an 18 year old drank a tea made from the flowers and 4 hours later amputated his own tongue and penis with garden shears?

Marneros, A.; Gutmann, P.; Uhlmann, F. (2006). “Self-amputation of penis and tongue after use of Angel’s Trumpet” (PDF). European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience. 256 (7): 458–459. doi:10.1007/s00406-006-0666-2. PMID 16783491.

 

growing up… romina said that children were told to avoid playing under the bush… because that’s where the little devil spirits lived.

 

 

all photographs taken with a lomography fisheye lens camera with flash on kodak gold 200 film.

all film developed and scanned by dwaynes photo.

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Published by msmlska

Born in Kailua, Hawai`i during a nurses strike in February of 1984, Micah, a bald new born with slight 'dumbo' ears, was called a "potato head" by the first man to set eyes on her: her doctor. This set into motion insecurities that would last well into puberty, highlighted by a year of wearing her hair down over the two flapjacks upon each side of her not so potato-like head. In perhaps an attempt to compensate for the lack of hospital staff, Micah's parents felt it necessary to overcompensate in names on her birth certificate. In the end, 34 letters and a hyphen would make up her full name, requiring more space than is available on class rosters and leaving professors guessing at her name. Micah, the daughter of a hustling Jewish father and a Dharma School teaching Buddhist mother, was promptly put into a Catholic school (complete with nuns, priests, and rulers). At age 9, she received a 35mm SLR camera. Eventually, she assimilated into public school and attended the oldest school west of the Mississippi River: Lahainaluna High School, est. 1831. This period of Micah's life is hazy. In 2002, shortly after her 18th birthday, Micah became violently ill with island fever and moved to Los Angeles. With nothing else to do, she did what all the other kids were doing, and enrolled in a college (one that didn't require an essay or any plan in general). After spending 3 years at a 2 year college, Micah felt that it may have been time to move on and transferred to USC. The next 3 years were full of photos, writings, delayed bus transfers, and some mean spills while trying to navigate her longboard around the fractured sidewalks of downtown. Eventually, Micah got a BA degree and left her name on the wall in the library at USC. Across the Pacific, in Aotearoa New Zealand, Micah watched TV for her Masters, thanks to a Fulbright Grant. She then wrote a paper on connecting through popular media, aided by new media.