University of London Partnership
Brunei Gallery Exhibition
Between April and June 2008, Our Positive Bodies showcased at the Brunei Gallery, University of London between April and June 2008. This exhibition includes a selection of deeply personal and explosively colorful self-portraits of HIV+ people from Africa and Asia as well as paintings, photographs, and stories in Thai, Kiswahili, Hindi, and English, showing the power of expression, pointing to the problems with our programs, and sharing our strategies for staying healthy.
At a time when everyone in these communities has been touched by the loss of parents, siblings, partners, or children, the burning questions for anyone infected today are: "How do I live on? How do I stay healthy? How do I keep hope alive?" The life-size Body Maps on show are a powerful response to these questions, telling stories of healing, of stigma, of strength, of care by those who make their choices in a world shaped by HIV/AIDS. Through the universal language of art we can inform health policies and programs by demonstrating the realities of our lives and the treatment choices we make to stay strong, hopeful, and healthy.
TICAH uses Body Mapping to explore the treatment choices and options faced and made by HIV+ people across the world, to share our challenges and strengths, give the epidemic the beautiful face of real stories of survival, and open discussions about where we are failing and where we are succeeding. We believe that our paintings are also policy documents, and that by creating spaces for expression and exchange, we are also supporting more responsive programs that recognize our needs and our realities. We believe that these testimonies can help us address the injustice and inequality that fuel the epidemic.
Our Positive Bodies - Mapping Our Treatment, Sharing Our Choices
This book documents presents the body maps and treatment stories of 13 HIV+ women from Kenya, India and Thailand.