TEXTiles/THIS IS NOT AN AIDS QUILT.

As a long term survivor of the AIDS epidemic McPhail proposes a strategy for coping with the mundane issues of aging with HIV, while at the same time navigating the complexities and banalities of the emergent Covid-19 pandemic. THIS IS NOT AN AIDS QUILT is at once a call to action and an admission of defeat, an attempt to give voice to the sense of vigour and the crushing weariness which coexist in any memorial. The laborious materiality of applying thousands of sequins by hand and the tenacity required for such a futile endeavour satisfies the contradictory sentiments that surface when confronting two major epidemics.

THIS IS NOT AN AIDS QUILT references the creation of the 54 ton AIDS Quilt which brought together and gave voice to the community of those affected by the devastating loss of loved ones during the early years of the AIDS crisis.  Touching on themes of gender, identity, language, loss and survival THIS IS NOT AN AIDS QUILT reclaims visibility and survival beyond crisis.