"DoxyPep 1 & 2" (2023) | Acrylic on canvas | 92cm x 92cm (each)
DoxyPep 1 & 2 were a pair of paintings I made for the “HIV Science as Art 2023” exhibition at Metro Arts Centre, Brisbane, curated by Jessica Whitbread and Daniel Cordner, as part of the International AIDS Symposium 2023.
The exhibition presented works by 12 HIV+ artists fom around the world and we were tasked to artistically interpret the work of 12 scientists working in HIV/AIDS who were presenting at the Symposium. For this work, I was paired with Dr Chase Cannon, of the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington and affiliate of Public Health-Seattle & King County, who presented a paper on DoxyPEP, which is an experimental regimen of administering to patients the broad spectrum antibiotic doxycyline within 24 hours of exposure as a way to prevent them from contracting infection of chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis.
D O X Y P E P 1 & 2
Since DoxyPep was not well known outside of the STI prevention community at the time, and because I felt an urgency to put the word out there about the treatment, I took inspiration from the early days of HIV/AIDS awareness marketing campaign, especially by ACT UP and “Death = Silence” posters in the 1980s, with bold lettering and literal messaging. I wanted it to have the look of an ad.