Gscene Magazine - November 2020 | WWW.GSCENE.COM

Page 24

24 Gscene Aids crisis that was raging through New York. Haring’s work flowed through the New York subways and art galleries alike and became an important visual voice of the Aids crisis. Haring’s style of using bright colours and playful characters was, unlike the UK Government’s Don’t Die of Ignorance slogan, perfect for spreading the message about the need for safer sex and to alert everyone without scaring the bejeezers out of them. Instead, Haring’s style drew people in and provoked positive discussion about safer sex. I was one of the many people wearing his safer sex T-shirts, further spreading the message.

More to Me Than HIV

Glenn Stevens explains the new project and looks back at memorable and striking HIV/Aids campaigns over the years ) Over the years many of the HIV/Aids campaigns have made use of striking images and memorable catchphrases to keep the topic of the disease in the public eye. The success of these was the trigger for the creation of a new HIV campaign with the main objective of relegating to the past misconceptions of what it means to live with an HIV diagnosis, and to break down the stigma many of those living with HIV have experienced in the past and present.

slogan blasted across billboards and when you popped the television on there was the same image, with John Hurt’s gravelly voice reiterating the same message. How effective this campaign was is still up for debate, but for many this is the image they recall when we talk about Aids. Unsurprisingly no one had the UK Government tombstones blazed across their chest. Perhaps the most universally recognisable symbol, particularly during the build-up to WAD, is the Red Ribbon. The red ribbon symbol started in 1988 when a group of New York artists came together to create art in response to the Aids crises.

The project is called More to Me Than HIV, inviting those living with an HIV-positive diagnosis to submit three personal images alongside three empowering words to show there’s More to Me Than HIV. To mark World Aids Day 2020 (WAD), here are some of the other visual campaigns and symbols that have kept HIV/Aids in the public eye...

For those of us who grew up in the 1980s, the most enduring image from that time will be the terrifying tombstones telling us: “Don’t die of Ignorance”. Every household had a leaflet through their door, you could not walk down the street without seeing the same

Around the same time an American campaign group called Act Up (Aids Coalition to Unleash Power) was formed, with one of the founders being the renowned political Aids campaigner, Larry Kramer. From the very beginning the group understood the power of the image and used many striking symbols and slogans along with direct action protests to get their voices heard. Set up in New York in 1987, Act Up had a collective of artists under the banner Gran Fury. Perhaps its most iconic image was that of Silence = Death, with the pink triangle (a symbol used during the Nazi Holocaust to identify homosexual men, but later reclaimed by the political gay community) along with the factual statement at the time, Silence = Death. The ‘silence’ was not just about the silence from the politicians, but from the many people living with HIV who felt they could not speak up about their HIV+ status through fear of the stigma that was rife then and, to a degree, still is for many across the globe. At the same time graffiti/pop art artist Keith Haring was making a statement about the

When the group was joined by Marc Happel, a costume designer by trade, he brought the idea of using a red ribbon after being inspired by the yellow ribbons tied round trees in support the military personnel serving in the Gulf war. From the very start the red ribbon was an easy way to allow people to show their support for WAD. In the early 1990s, for a short while a new trend began with some gay men living with HIV having a biohazard image tattoo. For


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook

Articles inside

THT share plans for World Aids Day 2020 - Tue, Dec 1

2min
pages 3, 16

LAURIE'S ALLOTMENT

1min
page 64

TURN BACK THE PAGES

7min
pages 60-61

TWISTED GILDED GHETTO by Eric Page

3min
page 59

GOLDEN HOUR by Billie Gold

2min
page 59

NETTY'S WORLD by Netty Wendt

2min
page 57

ROGER'S RUMINATIONS BY ROGER WHEELER

2min
page 57

Page's Pages. Book Reviews by Eric Page

5min
page 46

CLASSICAL NOTES BY NICK BOSTON

4min
page 45

World Aids Day Concert 2020 - Keeping our communities in tune

1min
page 44

Zanele Muholi @ Tate Modern

1min
pages 42-43

Building a new career model

7min
pages 40-41

The changing representation of HIV and Aids in film and TV

11min
pages 38-39

Gender: A Tool of Oppression

10min
pages 36-37

Be PrEP-ared!

11min
pages 34-35

Navigating the Pandemic

6min
pages 32-33

Strength in Support

4min
page 27

The New Normal

3min
page 26

More to Me Than HIV

9min
pages 24-26

World Rugby rules against trans players playing at highest level

2min
page 21

Out to Swim South returns to the pool

1min
page 20

Rainbow Hub recruiting new volunteers

1min
page 20

Allsorts' Service Update

1min
page 20

BLAGSS Road Cycling Rides every Sunday

1min
page 20

Covid restrictions force two-year delay of LGBTQ+ rugby tournament

1min
page 20

Gov told to act now to ensure PrEP roll-out for all

3min
page 19

"Inequality a major mental health risk for LGBTQ+ people in rural Scotland."

2min
page 18

Aids Memorial gets spruced up

1min
page 18

Lunch Positive's HIV Supper Club reopens

1min
page 18

THT Brighton reopens its doors

1min
page 17

Open Letters to Queer Britain

1min
page 17

What does IDENTITY mean to you?

1min
page 17

Gareth Thomas announced as new patron of THT

3min
page 16

Ledward Centre Update & Survey

1min
page 15

Clare Project relaunches online Awareness & Inclusion Training

1min
page 15

'Hear Us Out' project to celebrate LGBTQ+ elders

1min
page 14

Hate Crimes at record high, new figures reveal

3min
page 14

Rough sleepers blood-borne viruses (BBV) testing project

3min
page 13

Rainbow Chorus marks National Hate Crime Awareness Week

2min
page 12

Can you help Brighton Gay Men's Chorus find a new store?

1min
page 12

Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus announces new Chair & Vice Chair

1min
page 12

Brighton & Hove Pride receives £643,100 from Culture Rescue Fund

2min
page 11

HIV Hankie Quilt to be displayed at Sussex Beacon shop for World Aids Day

2min
page 5

Marking World Aids Day 2020 in Brighton & Hove, online and offline

4min
pages 4-5

Terrence Higgins Trust: Walk the Ribbon

2min
page 10

Positive Voices Craig Hanlon-Smith speaks to John Jaquiss – one positive voice living among us

6min
page 31

Turn Back the Pages. Gscene stories from 2005,2010,and 2015

7min
pages 60-61

Making sense of it all. Glenn Stevens

2min
page 63

STUFF & THINGS BY JON TAYLOR

2min
page 63

More to Me Than HIV Glenn Stevens explains the new project and looks back at memorable HIV/Aids campaigns over the years

9min
pages 24-26

Alix Coe & Jason Walker raise £1,840+ for Allsorts Youth ProjectT

1min
page 17

RAE’S REFLECTIONS

4min
page 62

Trans Can Core with Liz

1min
page 21

Join Brighton & Hove’s LGBTQ+ inclusive rugby club!

1min
page 21

Local community publisher launches Queer History Walk

2min
page 22

Club Revenge receives £84,625 from Culture Recovery Fund

1min
page 14

Craig’s Thoughts What happened? Or where did my Craigy go?

5min
page 58

Gscene Magazine - November 2020 | WWW.GSCENE.COM

4min
pages 28-29

Pop! goes the easel Our Our cover artist this month, Dave Pop!, talks to Jaq Bayles

5min
pages 8-9

Trans in the City - Role Models & Real Models

3min
page 23
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.
Gscene Magazine - November 2020 | WWW.GSCENE.COM by Scene LGBTQ+ Magazine - Issuu