Adler Museum of Medicine

Head Torso Hand Feet, 2016. Digital photographs on paper.
Artivist: Parthiv Shah (b. 1962, Gujarat). New Delhi, India.

“I grew up listening to lyrics by Kabir, a 15th-century Indian mystic weaver, poet, and saint, who describes the body as an ‘earthen vessel.’ ‘Listen to me, my Friend! My beloved Lord is within.’ 

“Digging within the Through Positive Eyes archive, I found myself thinking about Kabir on account of the recurring images of bodies, and how these images imply their own kind of story. I began to pull out photos that caught my imagination, and then to play with them, to blow up parts in order to focus on details, even when this caused the original image to be distorted in some way. Gradually, I began to see that I could organize the photos and texts around particular body parts—head, torso, hands, feet—to create a set of four companion accordion-fold books.

“As a young child, I met the artist-designers Charles and Ray Eames, who edited photographs in a similar way. Inspired by them, the idea here is simply to reflect, in the unfolding of the pages, the way we experience new things in our lives.”

Love Keeps Me Alive, 2016. Digital photographs printed on fabric.
Artivist: Daniel Goldstein (b. 1950, Mount Vernon, New York). Portland, United States.

“I am an artist and sculptor who has been living with HIV in the United States since 1984. The two large hanging pieces, or mandalas, are made from photos I found in the Through Positive Eyes archive. One is on the theme of meditation, which for me is as important as medication, and the other is on the theme of love, because who can do without that?”

Mind Experiment #1 and #2, 2016. Latex condoms.
Artivist: Adriana Bertini (b. 1971, Porto Alegre). Sao Paulo, Brazil.

“For the past two decades, I have been creating Condom Couture—fashion made of brilliantly colored hand-dyed condoms. The idea is to represent yourself through desirable clothing, which at the most fundamental level is a way for you to wrap up and protect yourself. In the past I have focused on making condom dresses, but recently I branched out to headdresses. Hats and headdresses have been around since at least 2000 B.C., mainly to serve as protection from heat or cold, sunshine or rain drops. Taking the concept of protection still further, I have created a new kind of head accessory, part hat, part wig. I call this the Mind Experiment series, the goal of which is to ask how to change our attitudes and behavior surrounding sex. These pieces propose the importance of deep mental reflection, leading to the intense desire for change and the adoption of condom usage. The condom has to get into the head!”