Pharma

"Who benefits from our pain?" This is the question formulated by Ada Trillo—a prompt that reverberates throughout the entire series Pillhead, 2026. From a deeply personal perspective, the artist constructs a political framework that originates in trauma, yet extends toward the disparities in how health is understood and treated between East and West, power dynamics, systemic inequality, and human dignity. This photographic series documents the artist’s personal recovery process in Nepal. There, after decades of clinical treatment and medication, she initiated an alternative healing experience centered around Ayurvedic medicine, yoga, meditation, a specialized diet, massage, and other modalities of self-knowledge and care. This path allowed her to achieve well-being without depending on the prescription pharmaceuticals legally administered through her insurance provider—a reality vastly different from that experienced by individuals with limited financial resources. The paradox Trillo exposes lies in how the exact same substance can be legally administered by the healthcare system to those who can afford it, while those lacking resources are forced to obtain it on the black market, facing identical risks and adverse effects. Drawing from this lived experience, Trillo establishes a sharp contrast between Western and Eastern approaches to healthcare, questioning the corporate and economic interests that intersect systems of care and wellness.