#hivart

In 1992, a man with AIDS was carried through the streets of Madrid in the arms of others. His bare feet never touched the ground. Pepe Espaliú called the action "Carrying". ❤️‍🩹 At a time when AIDS was still surrounded by fear, stigma and moral judgement, Espaliú did something extraordinarily simple: he made people touch the body they had been taught to fear. 🤲 Arms had to make contact. 🤲 His weight had to be accepted. 🤲 One person could not carry him alone. This was not pity. It was responsibility. On World AIDS Day, December 1, 1992, friends, artists and public figures carried Espaliú through Madrid, from the area of the Spanish Parliament toward the Museo Reina Sofía. A gay man dying of AIDS became the centre of a human chain. More than thirty years later, "Carrying" still leaves us with an uncomfortable question: "Which bodies are we still unwilling to carry?" 🔗 Full article: antoninolavela.it/2026/08/pepe-espaliu-carrying-aids-performance.html #PepeEspaliu #Carrying #AIDSArt #HIVArt #QueerArt #PerformanceArt #ContemporaryArt #ArtHistory #QueerHistory #AIDSCrisis #LGBTQArt #BodyArt #ArtAndPolitics #SpanishArt #MadridArt #ArtActivism

In 1992, a man with AIDS was carried through the streets of Madrid in the arms of others. His bare feet never touched the ground. Pepe Espaliú called the action "Carrying". ❤️‍🩹 At a time when AIDS was still surrounded by fear, stigma and moral judgement, Espaliú did something extraordinarily simple: he made people touch the body they had been taught to fear. 🤲 Arms had to make contact. 🤲 His weight had to be accepted. 🤲 One person could not carry him alone. This was not pity. It was responsibility. On World AIDS Day, December 1, 1992, friends, artists and public figures carried Espaliú through Madrid, from the area of the Spanish Parliament toward the Museo Reina Sofía. A gay man dying of AIDS became the centre of a human chain. More than thirty years later, "Carrying" still leaves us with an uncomfortable question: "Which bodies are we still unwilling to carry?" 🔗 Full article: antoninolavela.it/2026/08/pepe-espaliu-carrying-aids-performance.html #PepeEspaliu #Carrying #AIDSArt #HIVArt #QueerArt #PerformanceArt #ContemporaryArt #ArtHistory #QueerHistory #AIDSCrisis #LGBTQArt #BodyArt #ArtAndPolitics #SpanishArt #MadridArt #ArtActivism