“Red is one of the strongest colours, it’s blood, it has a power with the eye. That’s why traffic lights are red I guess, and stop signs as well... In fact I use red in all of my paintings.”
– Keith Haring, died of AIDS related complications at the age of 31 on February 16, 1990.
Maybe Keith Haring was right – red became the signal of man’s battle with the greatest scourge of the 20th century. On July 3, 1981, The New York Times reported the outbreak of a “rare cancer” among 41 homosexuals in New York and California. A year later, the disease was named Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).
By 1991, HIV/AIDS had been recognised as a pandemic and a group of New York artists from Visual AIDS Artists Caucus wanted to create a visual symbol of compassion for people living with the virus and those who cared. They were inspired by the yellow ribbons Americans since the ’40s have worn as a symbol of hope that their soldiers would return from distant wars, but finally chose red: the colour of blood, passion, anger and, most importantly, love. Today the red ribbon is also associated with heart disease and stroke, but among other ribbons of awareness such as the pink for breast cancer and purple for domestic violence, it is still most recognizable for the fight against AIDS.
The arts community is one of those most affected by HIV/AIDS. In the early years after its discovery, AIDS was taboo. No one wanted to talk about it: parents wouldn’t speak the word to their children, the media refused to discuss it, and politicians in the US prevented the government from funding AIDS prevention and education programmes that “encourage or promote homosexual activity”. The arts became one of the few ways to express people’s anger, fear and sorrow around the epidemic.
When Keith Haring started participating in Art Against AIDS and painted some of his most remarkable works, like Silence = Death, when Derek Jarman filmed Blue, literally a requiem for himself, when the AIDS Memorial Quilt became the largest public art project in the world, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989 (and with a current size of around 16 football fields), the arts and AIDS became inseparable.
But not in Hong Kong. Since the first confirmed case in 1985, few people with HIV/AIDS have been willing to reveal their condition to a conservative public and, with our arts scene relatively inactive, art work directly reflecting the suffering has been minimal.
Canadian-born photographer and painter Norm Yip uses SARS as a metaphor. “Art becomes more personal, and people will be inspired, in a good or bad way, to be creative. If a tragedy doesn’t hit you personally, you won’t move in its direction.” And he recalls the outbreak in 2003: “It hit Hong Kong directly. It hit home and we witnessed it, so art came out of it.”
Yip agrees AIDS brings people closer to what life is about but social issues may not be on every artist’s agenda. Some work on a very personal level, while others work more socially and politically. He describes himself as a passive supporter of AIDS awareness activities. Though he never includes specific messages in his art, he will donate a certain percentage of his proceeds to The Society of AIDS Care.
In Hong Kong, concerned groups and artists are more likely to use the arts as a means to promote AIDS awareness or fundraise than allow AIDS to influence their art. The Society for AIDS Care invites artists and designers to create a one-off themed piece for auction every year. Themes in previous years have included chandeliers, paintings, mirrors and wine racks, with the proceeds going to the group’s support services.
One of the most accomplished AIDS awareness organizations in the SAR is Teens AIDS, established in 1995. Founder Atty Ching aims to educate youth on the issue through the arts. Coming from a theatrical background, she finds three forms will reach her target audience – performing art including drama and music, visual art, and literature.
Ching says she also uses games, but they can only help teens to have a better understanding of the disease. Games will wake them up to look at the disease more carefully and so gain knowledge, but won’t change them. “Art is different. Art is soul touching, there are no age or regional boundaries,” she explains. “Everyone has a different interpretation of an art piece, but in the end if you are moved by it, it will change your way of thinking and behaviour.”
And so Touch Theatre, a group of volunteers from Teens AIDS, perform dramas to arouse AIDS awareness. Ching says theatre is an effective yet unprovocative means to foster discussion about the disease: “When an audience is watching a drama, they think they are only seeing other people’s stories. They feel less offended when we discuss sensitive issues like AIDS.”
Teens AIDS also spread their messages through visual arts and literature, namely through greeting card design and writing competitions. They have also collaborated with cartoonists and illustrators such as Siu Hak and Eric So.
Meanwhile, Andy Wong, resident choreographer of DanceArt, also understands why the arts are so important in promoting AIDS awareness. “Art is a very neutral medium. There is no right or wrong in art. Art is for everyone and we can all find a way to express ourselves through art.”
Wong has been active in AIDS volunteer services since 1995. He started by dancing at a Christmas party for people living with HIV and later became involved in peer service – or, as Wong puts it, simply being friends with HIV positives. He was inspired by his experience and, in 1998, created My Party, a dance theatre performance combining drawing, visual projection and dancing. The response was overwhelming and that’s when he learnt how powerful and influential the arts can be.
That realization led to his series, A Beautiful Life, in 2001. Intended as a dance performance around AIDS related issues, the series has evolved into a teens’ programme which both explores life issues and takes entertainment out into the community. It has played all over Hong Kong in venues as diverse as the Fringe Club and the Kowloon Mosque.
And while his work has been influencing a multitude of Hong Kongers, Wong himself hasn’t remained untouched. “To me, art is the most honest way to express love,” he says. Community service has narrowed his focus to three main themes: human relationships, love and the meaning of existence. “If I hadn’t seen the plague and the death of others,” Wong says, “I would never have learned to cherish life.” |
