Counterpublic Posters
This summer, inspired by all the amazing AIDS memorial work being done, I created my own AIDS memorial of sorts for Counterpublic, a triennial public art exhibition presented by The Luminary, an artist-run center in St. Louis. I made a series of posters titled WHERE IT STARTS that were wheat-pasted on the side of the gallery. The last poster in the series reads, “If living well is the best revenge, then maybe supporting people historically marked for premature death is the best memorial.” This poster is my response to my question. I believe an AIDS memorial in an ongoing epidemic must also respect and support people living with HIV in ways they need and want.
For more about this topic, read my article in the latest issue of C Magazine, a publishing platform for “debate about visual art and culture.”
Click here to take a look at AIDS memorials and monuments around the world.
Canadian-born Theodore (ted) Kerris a Brooklyn-based writer, organizer and artist whose work focuses on HIV/AIDS, community and culture. Kerr’s art practice brings together pop culture, photography and text to create fun, meaningful, shareable ephemera and images in the form of postcards, posters, stickers and collages.
