Richard Kern’s photography are confrontational and many escape any didactic interpretation. They reveal an underbelly of darkness and many times the reflection turns inward; an audience member must confront questions of representation, perversion, and beauty are all confronted. In December 2020, he published his most recent book, Medicated, a collection of photographs and interviews compiled over the course of 10 years, inspecting the relationship between young women and prescription drug use. I sat down with Richard Kern and talked to him about it.