DISCLOSURES
Needle perforated parchment and printed paper, 38 in. x 25 in. 2013, 2017
To speak of disclosure is to imply a process of revelation, of making known that which has been hidden. Disclosures is a chronicling of intimate conversations and thoughts that take place in my experience as a person living with HIV. Some of the statements in this series reference a dialogue with past partners, some with random lovers, and others, with the anthropomorphism of my own disease.
Needle perforated parchment and printed paper, 38 in. x 25 in. 2013, 2017
To speak of disclosure is to imply a process of revelation, of making known that which has been hidden. Disclosures is a chronicling of intimate conversations and thoughts that take place in my experience as a person living with HIV. Some of the statements in this series reference a dialogue with past partners, some with random lovers, and others, with the anthropomorphism of my own disease.
Fear and stigma surrounding HIV further complicate interpersonal relationships and intimacy, forcing an adept mitigation of what should appropriately be disclosed, to whom, and how. Harnessing the autonomy to disclose is a radical gesture, an inversion of the power dynamic, and a pre-emptive safeguard from the violence and passivity of being exposed. Paradoxically, choosing to disclose that which would otherwise remain latent can create an entirely new set of parameters for risk and vulnerability. Whereas truth and honesty could otherwise empower and liberate, the violence of HIV criminalization now demonstrates that same intimacy, truth, and disclosure can result in denial of basic human rights, physical harm, criminal charges, inclusion on "dangerous" sex offender registries, and incarceration.
Text was transcribed on parchment paper through perforation by hand, needle marked like the flesh of my medicalized body, and layered over printed paper.
Exhibition view, Photo courtesy: dc3 Art Projects, Edmonton, AB, 2017
Exhibition view of Disclosures V, Photo courtesy: dc3 Art Projects, Edmonton, AB, 2017
Exhibition view, Photo courtesy: dc3 Art Projects, Edmonton, AB, 2017
Exhibition view, Photo courtesy: dc3 Art Projects, Edmonton, AB, 2017
Disclosures III (detail), Photo courtesy :Van Every / Smith Galleries, Davidson, NC, 2013
Disclosures, 38 in. x 25 in. Detail
Disclosures, 38 in. x 25 in. Detail
Disclosures, 38 in. x 25 in.
Disclosures I , 38 in. x 25 in. 2017, (Private Collection)
Disclosures II , 38 in. x 25 in.
Disclosures III , 38 in. x 25 in.
Disclosures IV , 38 in. x 25 in.
Disclosures V, 38 in. x 25 in.