In Loving Memory

To be in the presence of the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt is humbling, devastating and profound. The quilt memorialises approximately 384 of the many thousands of people who have died in the UK from AIDS-related causes, as well as those who could not be named because of homophobia. It is part of one of the largest community art projects in the world.

This June, during Pride Month, the quilt was laid out in the Turbine Hall of Tate Modern. It was a momentous occasion, the quilt’s largest-ever display in the UK. It was also a rare event: for many years, from the late 1990s until 2014, the quilt had been placed in storage. It is only thanks to a group of volunteers, the UK AIDS Memorial Partnership, that the quilt is now back in the public consciousness.

The UK quilt is an offshoot of the US quilt, known as the NAMES Project. The work is comprised of 42 panels, each measuring 12 by 12 feet. These are formed of eight smaller panels, each measuring 6 by 3 feet, the size of an average grave plot. In the 1980s, many of those who died of AIDS-related causes were not given funerals, either because homophobic families would not accept the truth about their relative, or because funeral homes refused to take their bodies. When friends, partners, or community members decorated quilt panels, those who had died could be remembered.

It was an extraordinary moment for the quilt to be displayed at Tate Modern. In the 1980s and 1990s, the US quilt was displayed repeatedly on the National Mall in Washington DC – the long stretch of grass adjoining the city’s famous monuments. This iconic location helped to put the issue of HIV and AIDS at the heart of the international conversation. Today, it is estimated that 40 million people worldwide live with HIV. Some of these people still face stigma and difficulty accessing treatment. Recent foreign aid cuts by the US government now jeopardise the lives of the millions worldwide who cannot afford HIV treatments on their own.

The quilt memorialises those who died, and brings attention to the continuing HIV pandemic. By being laid out in Tate Modern’s iconic Turbine Hall, it echoes the symbolism of the National Mall displays. Placing the quilt within the context of art also honours the makers of each panel – and their acts of love in memorialising those who they have loved and lost.

^{This display was presented at Tate Modern by Tate in partnership with UK AIDS Memorial Quilt and initiated by Charlie Porter. Curated by Elliot Gibbons, Collaborative Doctoral Researcher.}

^{Charlie Porter is author of the novel Nova Scotia House.}