The Offer of Calm Amidst the Onslaught

Project Description

Painted in a single room occupancy (SRO) hotel for people living with AIDS, this project was created by a group of HIV positive adults with histories of incarceration, drug use and prostitution. Participants generated symbols of stress and calm to illustrate the precarious situation of living with AIDS, on two adjacent walls. One wall depicts one of the participants as an “earthen angel” with butterfly wings. He is surrounded by palm trees and the sea. Like a nurse, he offers a tray of “healing” options, instead of medicines and pills, we see a young girl amidst flowers and butterflies. To the left, an anxious woman is holding a curtain on which are threatening mosquitoes and a large snake consuming a mouse. The mosquitoes represent “the plague” (AIDS) and the snake illustrates death and survival. Is the woman covering the “offer of calm” or revealing it with this “curtain of stress”?  One of the participants said, “I am leaving my own memorial here.”

Add new comment

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.

Project Info

Location: 312 West 109th Street New York City, NY 10025
Neighborhood: 
Upper West Side


Program: 
Community Commission


Theme: 
Health and Wellness


Year: 
1997


Lead Artist(s):
Amy Sananman


Participants: 

 

Medium: 
Acrylic on Sheetrock


Dimensions: 18 x 15 ft