Stigma
"Stigma" is a raw, emotionally searing portrait of inner torment and societal judgment — a powerful reflection of living with HIV, painted through the lens of pain, alienation, and resilience. It speaks not only to personal struggle but also to the crushing weight of external perception.
🎨 Visual Description:
At the center, a figure sits curled inward, face buried in their hands, their body fragmented and imprisoned by bars that resemble both a cell and a shattered grid — perhaps symbolizing both physical isolation and a fractured identity. The skin tones are pale, washed in sorrow, while the background bleeds harsh reds and purples, evoking shame, anger, fear, and sorrow in one emotionally rich palette.
The figure’s golden hair and blue shirt give a hint of individuality, a life, a history. But that humanity is suffocated under the weight of words.
🧠 Surrounding Words:
Surrounding the figure — like scars written on skin — are brutal, stigmatizing labels:
"Dirty", "Damaged goods", "Whore"
"Less than human", "Walking dead"
"Unlovable", "Bitten", "Fear of rejection"
"Viral load", "CD4", "Measurable life"
"Lover", "Brother", "Son", "Father"
These words are powerful and painful — a haunting manifestation of how society projects shame, fear, and ignorance onto people living with HIV. Some words label relationships — “Son,” “Father,” “Brother” — which feel especially heartbreaking, as if the artist is questioning whether their role in those identities is still valid. Others describe how people are made to feel: “Less than human,” “Walking dead,” or “Fear of rejection.”
🧱 Themes:
Stigma as Prison: The intersecting lines resemble bars, confining the person not due to illness itself, but due to how society treats them.
Invisibility and Isolation: The hidden face suggests overwhelming shame, a desire to disappear — not from illness, but from constant judgment.
Humanity vs. Labeling: The contrast between the human form and the harsh words surrounding them creates a painful visual of identity being overwritten by diagnosis.
💬 Interpretation:
This is more than art — it's a scream from a silenced place, a portrait of what it feels like to be seen only through the lens of stigma. It doesn’t ask for pity — it demands to be witnessed.
My use of color, positioning, and handwritten words makes this an intensely intimate and courageous piece. It reflects a moment of deep vulnerability but also acts as an indictment of the systems and voices that imposed such pain.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 16 X 20
"Stigma" is a raw, emotionally searing portrait of inner torment and societal judgment — a powerful reflection of living with HIV, painted through the lens of pain, alienation, and resilience. It speaks not only to personal struggle but also to the crushing weight of external perception.
🎨 Visual Description:
At the center, a figure sits curled inward, face buried in their hands, their body fragmented and imprisoned by bars that resemble both a cell and a shattered grid — perhaps symbolizing both physical isolation and a fractured identity. The skin tones are pale, washed in sorrow, while the background bleeds harsh reds and purples, evoking shame, anger, fear, and sorrow in one emotionally rich palette.
The figure’s golden hair and blue shirt give a hint of individuality, a life, a history. But that humanity is suffocated under the weight of words.
🧠 Surrounding Words:
Surrounding the figure — like scars written on skin — are brutal, stigmatizing labels:
"Dirty", "Damaged goods", "Whore"
"Less than human", "Walking dead"
"Unlovable", "Bitten", "Fear of rejection"
"Viral load", "CD4", "Measurable life"
"Lover", "Brother", "Son", "Father"
These words are powerful and painful — a haunting manifestation of how society projects shame, fear, and ignorance onto people living with HIV. Some words label relationships — “Son,” “Father,” “Brother” — which feel especially heartbreaking, as if the artist is questioning whether their role in those identities is still valid. Others describe how people are made to feel: “Less than human,” “Walking dead,” or “Fear of rejection.”
🧱 Themes:
Stigma as Prison: The intersecting lines resemble bars, confining the person not due to illness itself, but due to how society treats them.
Invisibility and Isolation: The hidden face suggests overwhelming shame, a desire to disappear — not from illness, but from constant judgment.
Humanity vs. Labeling: The contrast between the human form and the harsh words surrounding them creates a painful visual of identity being overwritten by diagnosis.
💬 Interpretation:
This is more than art — it's a scream from a silenced place, a portrait of what it feels like to be seen only through the lens of stigma. It doesn’t ask for pity — it demands to be witnessed.
My use of color, positioning, and handwritten words makes this an intensely intimate and courageous piece. It reflects a moment of deep vulnerability but also acts as an indictment of the systems and voices that imposed such pain.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 16 X 20
"Stigma" is a raw, emotionally searing portrait of inner torment and societal judgment — a powerful reflection of living with HIV, painted through the lens of pain, alienation, and resilience. It speaks not only to personal struggle but also to the crushing weight of external perception.
🎨 Visual Description:
At the center, a figure sits curled inward, face buried in their hands, their body fragmented and imprisoned by bars that resemble both a cell and a shattered grid — perhaps symbolizing both physical isolation and a fractured identity. The skin tones are pale, washed in sorrow, while the background bleeds harsh reds and purples, evoking shame, anger, fear, and sorrow in one emotionally rich palette.
The figure’s golden hair and blue shirt give a hint of individuality, a life, a history. But that humanity is suffocated under the weight of words.
🧠 Surrounding Words:
Surrounding the figure — like scars written on skin — are brutal, stigmatizing labels:
"Dirty", "Damaged goods", "Whore"
"Less than human", "Walking dead"
"Unlovable", "Bitten", "Fear of rejection"
"Viral load", "CD4", "Measurable life"
"Lover", "Brother", "Son", "Father"
These words are powerful and painful — a haunting manifestation of how society projects shame, fear, and ignorance onto people living with HIV. Some words label relationships — “Son,” “Father,” “Brother” — which feel especially heartbreaking, as if the artist is questioning whether their role in those identities is still valid. Others describe how people are made to feel: “Less than human,” “Walking dead,” or “Fear of rejection.”
🧱 Themes:
Stigma as Prison: The intersecting lines resemble bars, confining the person not due to illness itself, but due to how society treats them.
Invisibility and Isolation: The hidden face suggests overwhelming shame, a desire to disappear — not from illness, but from constant judgment.
Humanity vs. Labeling: The contrast between the human form and the harsh words surrounding them creates a painful visual of identity being overwritten by diagnosis.
💬 Interpretation:
This is more than art — it's a scream from a silenced place, a portrait of what it feels like to be seen only through the lens of stigma. It doesn’t ask for pity — it demands to be witnessed.
My use of color, positioning, and handwritten words makes this an intensely intimate and courageous piece. It reflects a moment of deep vulnerability but also acts as an indictment of the systems and voices that imposed such pain.
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Size: 16 X 20