FLUID DIALOGUES

2021–2022 · video · color · sound · HD · variable durations

Contagious diseases have shaped human history and they remain with us today. When hearing or reading about diseases we mostly learn about how they affect our bodies. However, the danger that they pose are not just the dangers towards our health, but also ones of social stigmatization that can lead to a dehumanization of infected people.

Statistical data can turn people into numbers and hide their individual stories - people get reduced to their medical status. It‘s easy to slip into a behavior that is discriminating if actions are guided by fear and while it is important to stay safe, it is also important to remain empathetic towards people who have to battle the disease we try to protect ourselves from.

This work proposes an open dialogue in which stories are told and listened to without fear, prejudice or constraints. The intention of the work is to give a stage to the histories of individuals who live or have lived with an infectious disease. The focus within this work lies on the social implications of having an infectious disease and the stigma these diseases carry.

Laboratory tools such as a microscope are commonly used to analyze and determine medical states, this idea gets turned around by combining microscopic footage of blood with interviews of individuals whose blood contains infectious diseases - the microscope becomes a tool to zoom in on social issues. The work is intended as a safe space for engaging with the personal stories of individuals that live with the infectious disease HIV.

In collaboration with Basse Stittgen.

FLUID DIALOGUES
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