LOVE REIGNS SUPREME

BY RICHARD JENEWAY

Icons and iconography means so much both historically and in the modern world, in my own head this can be someone from art, music, science, stage and screen, writers of poetry, scripture and to me importantly an influencer on Human Rights. Everyone has their own inkling of what makes an icon or defines iconography and as such I won’t be name dropping any of my own in this piece so as to not distract from my message.

Those who know me will have varying images and thoughts on my personality and traits. As an older openly gay man who has lived with HIV for over 25 years, I can certainly say that science has influenced me because of the medication that has been developed over the years to ensure those with HIV can live long and relatively normal lives.

In my life, my parents were a strong influence on me, although I was always regarded as a rebel avoiding convention but not achieving my desired career for many reasons, in part because of parental intervention, and because of my lack of interest in education at that time.

I was aware of my sexuality in my early years and came out as gay when I was 16. At that time in the early 1970s, career progression could be limited just for that reason alone.

I met a great man when I was 20 who was a poet and importantly for me had a lifestyle that reflected my own aspirations. During the years with Clem I learned more about art, theatre and nature but most importantly self-awareness and feeling at ease with who I was and am. I explored music across the genres, attended exhibitions and started to travel accepting and appreciating that others felt like me. It taught me to follow my heart in terms of feeling the need to learn more about people as whole.

“I learned more about art, theatre and nature but most importantly self-awareness and feeling at ease with who I was and am”

I recently met a man who is a classical musician and now I’m learning more about composers – both alive and dead. I would prefer not to use iconic because art is very much a personal matter but I’ve learnt to keep an open mind to just about everything to do with art, music and writing.