Ncedeka's body is covered with white blemishes outlined in red. At her hip she holds her daughter, dressed in red, who passed away after only four months on Earth. A shadow stands behind her symbolizing support, but its identity remains unknown. Ncedeka is on antiretroviral ( ARV ) drugs, but her HIV status is always with her and serves as a constant reminder of death.
Ncedeka is a member of the Bambanani Women, a group with access to ARV drug therapies in poverty-stricken South Africa. Through a community outreach program initiated by the University of Cape Town and Doctors Without Borders, these women were invited to tell their stories. Through group work, the women drew body maps of themselves exactly as they saw themselves without guidance from anyone else, and now their personal narratives are on display. Their work has now became a traveling show that tells bold tales of the way HIV/AIDS affects their lives. The show, Bodymaps, will be on display at the Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College, 33 E. Congress, from Sept. 5-Oct. 13.
Meanwhile, St. James Cathedral in Chicago will host an installation of the Keiskamma Altarpiece, created by 120 women of the South African coastal town of Hamburg, as a vibrant message of hope for people who are contending with the devastation that AIDS has wrought in their lives. The massive ( 13 feet by 22 feet ) and extremely colorful altarpiece is constructed of embroidery, appliqué, beadwork, and photos, and took more than six months to complete.
The Bodymaps exhibition was brought to Columbia College Chicago and the Institute by Executive Director Jane M. Saks, a strong believer in the potential of art as a transformative power in society. She first saw the Bodymaps prints in person at the new national courthouse in Johannesburg, South Africa, as a member of the court's Architectural and Arts Advisory Board. When she took the position as executive director a little over a year ago, she knew that an exhibition of these powerful images was something she wanted to do.
Bodymaps encourages the study of the devastation of HIV/AIDS. 'AIDS is not just a disease that would be devastating enough to the world,' said Saks in a recent interview with Windy City Times. 'It's also an indication of something so much larger in our global family. It reveals damaged relationships between individuals, communities, and nations, and gross inequities in terms of race, class, gender, sexual orientation and geographic location. It shows in stunning terms how we care for and support each other and where we are silent and neglectful.'
Bodymaps brings up issues of sexuality, poverty, class, geographic location and gender, and requires each and every single viewer to 'respond, take responsibility, and act in a meaningful and deep way,' Saks stated. 'We must speak about these things that we have learned not to talk about and address—again, we must break the silence.'
The intense drawings depict the physical and emotional tolls HIV and AIDS have taken on the women. They are accompanied by personal narratives through which the viewer can become directly engaged not only with the difficulty of living with HIV, but also with the hope and self-respect these women engender in one another by working together through their pain and fear using art therapy.
'The process of art therapy results in the creation of an object in a communal setting,' said Anna Horvath, a Chicago-based licensed counselor with degrees in art therapy and painting. 'This object represents what is emotionally going on with you, and it is an object that others can appreciate, creating a bond between you and others. It assists with the development of self-respect as well—if your work is appreciated, then you will appreciate yourself. Images can be very powerful and can overcome our habitual tendencies to protect ourselves with sentences and words.'
In South Africa, people with HIV/AIDS are still highly stigmatized and many never reveal their positive-status, or do so when it is too late. Many of these people are pregnant women like Ncedeka.
According to reports from the International Community of Women Living with HIV/AIDS, women make up more than 50% of people living with the disease worldwide. In South Africa, more than two and a half million women are living with HIV. However, in the 2003 Operational Plan for Comprehensive HIV and AIDS Care, Management and Treatment for South Africa, there is no mention of gender at all.
Not only are women being ignored, but they also face a greater risk of HIV infection. According to the AIDS Foundation South Africa, the infection rates between men and women are highest in those 15-24 years old, and the infection ratio is twice as high among females. Many young women have partners who are older, and these partners have other girlfriends who are likely to have HIV.
The South African government is still having trouble recognizing the HIV/AIDS epidemic. According to reports from last year's World AIDS Conference, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang is still promoting traditional cures such as garlic, beet root and lemon.
Naturally, access to ARV drugs is extremely low, especially for the poor. As Bambanani member Bulelwa states, 'Many people in the government say that poor people are too stupid to understand how to take the ARVs. We love these drugs … . [ They are ] the most important thing to us. Like air.'
Bulelwa's body map will also be on display.
Through their art, the Bambanani women are living proof that there are people who live positively with HIV—living without shame and, most of all, living as who they are.
Bodymaps is on display Sept. 5-Oct. 13, at the Institute for the Study of Women and Gender in the Arts and Media at Columbia College at the C33 Gallery, 33 E. Congress. The opening reception is Sept. 7, 5-7 p.m. See cspaces.colum.edu/spaces/c33_gallery or call 312-344-8829.
_____
The small coastal town of Hamburg and the entire Eastern Cape Province ( a part of South Africa ) needed hope—hope that they could live through the HIV/AIDS epidemic that nearly decimated their town.
With the help of Dr. Carol Hofmeyer, a physician who moved to Hamburg in 1999 and began teaching art to the villagers, the community joined to create the Keiskamma Altarpiece, a work of art created by 120 women that both helped deal with the devastation of HIV/AIDS in the village and create bonds and communication instead of silence and isolation. The altarpiece will be shown at St. James Cathedral, 65 E. Huron, until Sept. 20.
In the Keiskamma Altarpiece's main panel, a widow stands in front of a cross, presenting a strong symbol of femininity and martyrdom. She is surrounded by young children who have been orphaned by AIDS. The predella, or bottom panel, shows the funeral of a man named Dumile who succumbed to AIDS at the age of 35. Another panel presents images of hope—Hamburg's village life filled with beauty and bright blue skies. Yet another panel shows photos of village people whose lives have been devastated by AIDS. The altarpiece tells the village's hopes, fears and ultimate wish: to be rid of HIV and AIDS.
The women have woven the names of their loved ones into the altarpiece, making it 'similar to the AIDS quilt or the Vietnam Memorial' said one of the docents, Jessica Abell. 'I really believe that this is the way to combat this epidemic. It is a conscious choice to turn away from fear and turn towards hope and love.'
The Keiskamma Altarpiece is on display until Sept. 20 at St. James Cathedral of Chicago, 65 E. Huron. Call 312-787-7360 or see www.saintjamescathedral.org .
