jhakeer johnson

 Tough to kill is an art piece that stand out to show the faces of HIV.  Tiko Kerr is an artist from Vancouver  that used used old HIV medication bottles that he used for himself to make a portrait of himself. The bottles were used HIV medication that Kerr had used because he was diagnosed with HIV. This  artwork goes with the main objective  of my project is to humanize HIV patients. To de-stigmatize the stereotypes and educated the people on there ignorance. Many people feel as though people who contract HIV or has been diagnosed are not human and outcast them as if they are not humans. Many people are quick to judge the person and not seeing the effort it takes to stay alive living with this disease, some people living with this disease have to decided to make their grave already.  The artwork shows the face of someone who is infected with HIV and being productive in life that everything they touch is not going to die.  Even the name of the artwork says it all "tough to kill".
  The artwork shows the endurance and the scars people who are infected with HIV may go through.

Another is the famous designer Versace. Here is a picture of a Gianni Versace dress in red. Gianni Versace was a designer who was Gay and was diagnosed with HIV.  Despite him being diagnosed with HIV he created many fabulous designs and is a world renown designer even in his death. When people found out about his diagnosis in the 90's he lost a little bit of business but not enough to damage his business.  Despite finding out his diagnosis many people decided to  still buy his designs and recognized that his designs were revolutionary. People realized that the fashion that the designs were more brilliant and his work stood out more than the work.
 Yes these are not people of color  but the message of overcoming the stigma stands out even more. Yes people who are caucasian face discrimination because of this disease but its those who are raised in poverty and received melanin are those who are unrepresented.
 These two artist are a prime example of beating the  stigma of HIV that are placed upon gay men in general. Being an advocate for the black gay men who are underrepresented in media and also under represented in the aids community. Many black men die from lack of medication due to this disease and don't receive quality healthcare. It is important to use the face of the oppressors to  get the point across. I plan to find black artistry with HIV advocacy but in order to get the point across I must use the demographic that are well represented.