As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Today, the world is full of discrimination, stigma, and stereotypes. On top of that, people are quick to judge without proper understanding. Due to lack of education and misinformation, people are cancelling and attacking people who does not stand on the same level with them.
Despite these negatives of society, a silver lining is quite unexpected and powerful. For people that are HIV/AIDS positive, it might be a coarse life to live if you’re in the 80s or in the 90s – full of misconception and discrimination. But today, it is a time of defense and acceptance. People now defend their rights and advocate for the truth.
Philippines, described as the fastest growing HIV epidemic country in Asia and the Pacific and with the lack of sex education, discrimination is the top problem next to HIV/AIDS itself. As the epidemic rapidly grows its statistics and numbers, misinformation grows the same large number as well. With the stigma from old mindset and the stereotypes for specific jobs, Filipinos are handling this negatively and with so much toxicity. Not only does the government being at the top of their game with patients but also organizations and advocates – bringing rays of hope.
Advocacies for patients are coming from different perspectives, it can be seen from different aspects of life and understanding. As people are slowly absorbing how difficult it is to be infected, they are also trying to help the patients live with a little less burden. The UNAIDS Executive Director, Peter Piot said, “Art and AIDS have been inextricably linked throughout the epidemic’s quarter of a century history. Art has conveyed what words alone cannot.”. Representing them thru seminars, events and even in the form of art. Works of art like paintings, sculptures and representations with activism agenda and advocacies which targets people and their empathy and understanding to learn to live normal among people with HIV/AIDS. A unique form of art that could depict and make people understand the infection is conceptual photography. It is a type of photography that illustrates and shows ideas through how the photos are captured and presented.
Niccolo Cosme is a Filipino Conceptual Photographer who advocates on HIV and the LGBTQIA+ community. He is outspoken about his passion for photography and his own style. He said, “As a child, I'd been fascinated by images from Christian iconography, which I've infused with the pain and sorrow that come with experience and maturity.”. He is into conceptual and fashion photography. But his passion alone for photography is not the only definition of his character. He is an advocate and an activist through his art, promoting and making his audience see different perspectives through his works. When his friend, Wanggo Gallaga, got diagnosed with HIV, Niccolo received so much impact and has taken a lot of realizations even if it did not happen to him firsthand. He said, “it’s closer than you think”. After that news, he pursued being active in supporting on patients and the topic HIV itself through his own means, photography.
In 2008, he came up with the Headshot Clinic – AWARE which is a photo exhibit featuring more than 80 photos of people who are friends and co-supporters for HIV awareness. Cosme said in an interview, “As an artist, I've understood that we need to create something that can make people feel the urgency to move and to respond, using visual and auditory symbols as a call to action for intensified advocacy on HIV and AIDS,”. 2017, when the 10th Headshot Clinic Exhibit happened, it already climbed to 226 photos – started for his friend and for the people infected, now still standing up for them: all part of the movement and advocacy for HIV awareness. After the success of his photo exhibits, he started the Red Whistle which continues his passion for awareness advocacy and with partnership with government and non-government organizations related to HIV awareness. Alongside the various activities he has done, he continues doing his own work that still represents his soul for supporting.
He launched the XIV Exhibit of conceptual photography partnered with several artists. It was a series of conceptual photos depicting the life and struggle of an HIV positive patient. It was also inspired by the stations of the cross – instilling his style of Christian iconography. He said, “I got each of the stations theme and interpreted it in the context of HIV and AIDS. For example, the agony in the garden, the story is reflective of struggles, internal and external and used that imagery to depict the personal struggles of people affected by HIV and AIDS,” The shoots were mostly with ballet dancers. In an interview about the exhibit, he explained, “I initially wanted people afloat in the pieces which is why I mainly used ballet dancers in most of the pieces. It is very much baroque, and renaissance inspired since my work discipline is deeply rooted in those styles,”. In addition, blood from actual HIV positive patients was used in painting these photos. It was intentional and realistic for him to present works to break the stigma that interacting with patients can bring you harm and to also make the audience face their own preconception about HIV.
Another unique form of art that represents HIV/AIDS is architecture, the true essence of architecture is to have a greater connection to the users by forming designs that speaks its truth and its objective. In incorporating architecture and a topic like HIV/AIDS, it may sound challenging, but architecture should show the linkage of the structure to the subject point and having some empathetic reflections.
Considered as first major public space that pays tribute for the deaths and survivors of HIV/AIDS, the New York AIDS Memorial by Studio a+i stands center in Greenwich Village, New York. The memorial is designed to contribute and commemorate to people who were affected by the epidemic. With the center having a granite fountain and pavement carved with words from Walt Whitman’s Song for Myself paying tribute to the lives lost. The space is designed to bring people together: to reflect and to collectively contemplate for the personal grievances and to contribute for the betterment of the community. The design was initially created from the outline of the lot and was improved with canopy feature. According to Studio a+i, they did an abstract approach for it is a unique subject matter to commemorate than the usual (war and historical events).
Far from the news headlines and all the for-show support, it is very realistic and firsthand experience to work with people who are deeply affected. People might only show performative activism and support by just simply telling that they don’t believe the prejudices and the stigma going around. It is a different step to act upon your own belief and stand for the minorities and the oppressed. Niccolo Cosme once said that “I think it is all about putting awareness in different media that we can find, not just brochures or television commercials,” How you can help and in what form you can support should not be a problem because in any form of acceptance and educating, it can take a big leap for the people you are fighting for. As Paul Longmore said, “Prejudice is a far greater problem than any impairment, discrimination is a bigger obstacle to overcome than any disability.” – if you are not going to be part of the acceptance of differences and the solution, then you are worse than the problem itself.
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