We are currently living in what can only be described as the “golden age of cocaine.” Despite more than 50 years of a declared ‘War on Drugs’, both the consumption and production of the narcotic are at an all-time high, reaching levels never seen before.

In this talk, photographer Mads Nissen will take audiences on an unprecedented visual journey, revealing the trail of cocaine as he has documented it. He will trace its path from the very beginning—the coca leaf in the mountains—through clandestine laboratories, and into the complex networks of smugglers, cartels, and dealers, following it all the way to the underground parties where it is consumed. Nissen’s talk will pull back the curtain on the unseen, dark, and complex realities of this booming global trade.