andimgonnamisseverybody Christopher Paul Jordan, 2021, painted bronze, aluminum, and stainless steel The sculpture is a portal into places of gathering, hospitality, celebration, and care, formed by communities at the front lines of the AIDS crisis. These speakers pulsed through historic LGBTQ venues in this neighborhood and beyond. They have witnessed the raves, house parties, discos, shows, and uprisings that have sustained community in the face of catastrophic loss. These speakers are time capsules holding memories of loved ones no longer with us. Artist Christopher Jordan turns a plus sign on its side to shift thinking about HIV status. The X is a symbol for love and a symbol for the unknown. Jordan incorporates the X as a symbol connecting HIV+ and HIV- people along with the named and unnamed community members who have passed from AIDS. The X emulates the Dikenga, a Black indigenous spiritual mark spread throughout the Americas by African descendants as a compass, mapping pathways through the afterlife. The artwork invites us to honor those we have lost, to map our connections to the ongoing AIDS pandemic, and to strengthen connections between HIV+ and HIV- people. The X greets us at a crossroads of interlocking health emergencies, calling for renewed vigilance and action to end the systems of harm that place communities at risk. In a time where mass-incarceration, housing insecurity, HIV criminalization, anti-Blackness, transphobia, colonialism, sexism, and ableism deepen the impact of HIV and AIDS on targeted communities, this X is a call for transformative action. Made possible by the generosity of Carl & Renee Behnke and family, in memory of Ned Behnke Administered by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture - City of Seattle, Mayor Jenny A. Durkan This is part of The AMP: AIDS Memorial Pathway, a place created for remembrance and reflection, to share stories, and to be a call to action to end HIV/AIDS, stigma, and discrimination. Scan the QR code to download The AMP app for a virtual tour, AIDS resources, and augmented reality artwork and interactions.
