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
- Inscription
- inscribed in fibre-tipped pen on reverse u.c.: David McDiarmid / "Body Language" / 1990
- Accession Number
- 1997.92
- Department
- Contemporary Art
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Purchased, 1997
© David McDiarmid/Licensed by Copyright Agency, Australia
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of The Vizard Foundation - Gallery location
- Not on display
- About this work
-
David McDiarmid’s art moves between the categories of high and low, craft, fashion, pop culture and activism. Inscribed on the figure’s body in this work are the names of McDiarmid’s friends and lovers who had died of AIDS-related illnesses. The swastika on the head, incorporating each letter of the acronym AIDS, refers to extreme political and social conservatism in the wake of the AIDS crisis, particularly in regard to governments’ refusal to supply funding for health and education programs.
- 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)
