Events 2007: Interruptions

Please feel free to forward to anyone you feel may have interest.

Interruptions is a collaboration between Tracy Silverberg, my life partner, and me. Our mission in this project was to be provocative about HIV/AIDS issues, to engage emotions and compassion in everyone who would listen and see.

We originally titled the piece Biohazard, the idea being that people with AIDS have had more than their share of physical and mental demons to deal with. Literally, people with AIDS have become biohazards themselves, wasting away. December 7, 2005, Tracy’s liver failed, and in turn his kidneys took a hit so hard he was never able to recover; a pure and calm mind left his ravaged body at 5:35 AM.

In the Spring of 2005 Tracy and I realized that without access to the new drug for those with multiple drug resistance, this would likely be the beginning of the end of his fight. We were determined to move ahead with our work.

Tracy was always encouraging me to push the envelope with my work, to move outside my comfort zone. We knew we had to use photo imagery, the real thing, to make as strong an impact as possible.

Interruptions includes Tracy’s original photographs, plus a set of digitally manipulated ones and my paintings.

John Painter
Member, CCCC-Houston