Body language
1990
from the Kiss of light series 1990
Medium
self adhesive plastic collage and enamel paint on plywood
Measurements
152.4 × 121.8 cm
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1997
© David McDiarmid/Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia
Gallery location
Gallery 10
Level 2, NGV Australia
About this work
David McDiarmid’s 1991 Kiss of Light exhibition directly addressed gay sexuality, fighting against the media’s conflation of sex with death in the HIV/AIDS era. This collaged mosaic both celebrates queer dance culture and memorialises McDiarmid’s friends who passed away from AIDS-related complications. If this ‘body’ bespeaks the euphoria of dance, the ‘language’ tattooed upon it points to the dark swathe that cut through the disco crowds of McDiarmid’s world. In 1984 Herb Gower became the first of McDiarmid’s friends to die from AIDS-related complications. His name is inscribed on Body language, along with the names of other friends McDiarmid lost to the disease.
Artwork Details
Inscription
inscribed in fibre-tipped pen on reverse u.c.: David McDiarmid / "Body Language" / 1990
Accession Number
1997.92
Department
Australian Painting
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation
Subjects (general)
Human Figures Literary and Text Relationships and Interactions
Subjects (specific)
AIDS (medical syndrome) genitals (animal components) LGBTQ+ men (male humans) mortality names reflectivity (optical property) sex (personal activity)
Movements
Contemporary (style of art)
Physical description
A mosaic of reflective mylar plastic shapes,
'Body language' depicts a naked male figure with his back to the viewer. When lit, the mylar mosaic reflects the full colour spectrum in a dazzling display. The figure's hands spread his buttocks to reveal the anus depicted as a holographic winking eye. Inscribed on the figure's body are the names of friends and lovers of the artist who have died of AIDS related illnesses. The block-like head contains Swastika with each letter of the acronym AIDS situated in a separate quadrant of the symbol. The swastika refers, generally, to extreme political and social conservatism in the wake of the A IDS crisis, particularly with regards to funding for health and education programs.