A Mile Of Black Paper.
“When The New York Times bought its first fax machine, ACT UP faxed them a mile of black paper to protest their silence on AIDS, effectively shutting down the machine.” – Greenwich Village History
“There are two distinctly different kinds of AIDS... There’s AIDS of the past, and there’s ongoing AIDS. Neither are over.” – Sarah Schulman, writer / member of ACT UP New York
In 1987 the New York Times installed its first fax machine. The direct action group ACT UP (‘AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power’) were effective, wildly inventive, tech savvy activists. They faxed a mile of black paper to the newspaper office, using up all the expensive ink and rendering the machine useless. This was one of many activist ‘zaps’ used to protest and draw attention to the AIDS epidemic.
‘A mile of black paper’ is a collaborative artwork and teaching tool inspired by this action. My work inverts the original intention to shut down communication and replaces it with a forum for expression – a place to talk, write, learn and make work about HIV and AIDS of the past, and ongoing HIV and AIDS.
As an artist, activist and historian, I visit universities, arts festivals, theatres, galleries, film screenings and museums, delivering ‘teach-ins’ about HIV and AIDS. In these often emotive exchanges, I invite audiences to produce a piece of work for the collection. These are sometimes entire sheets of black ink, sometimes memorials, imagery, abstract expressions of feeling, pledges, poems, questions, words. The work is gathered and exhibited and the collection grows.
Contributions are sought. All work should be in black only and can be scanned and emailed to greg.thorpe@icloud.com for printing, or originals can be posted (address available on request).
If you would like to host the work, including exhibiting, teach-ins, workshops, talks, please get in touch.
I have delivered workshops and/or exhibited at the following places:
LGBT History Month, George House Trust, February 2019
For my teach-in the subject was ‘Manchester’ and I delved into our city’s history around HIV and AIDS including a suspected early AIDS case in the 1950s, early AIDS fundraisers from the 80s and 90s that contributed to the history of our present day Pride , ACT UP Manchester, vanished nightlife and more. The event was for GHT service users only.
‘In Equal Parts’, Sale Waterside Arts, Nov 2018–Jan 2019
As part of a programme of work attached to the play ‘First Time’ by Nathaniel Hall, this exhibition spanned World AIDS Day and included talks, HIV poster making workshops for young people, and an exhibition of my work alongside other work about HIV and activism.
Sexuality Summer School, University Of Manchester, 24.5.18
I hosted a teach-in and workshop with international postgraduates attending the Sexuality Summer School. I spoke about AIDS and ACT UP in Manchester, and the emotional impact of false origin stories of the epidemic. We had a broad discussion encompassing global experiences of AIDS education and stigma, listened to Klaus Nomi, and the group contributed some beautiful work to the collection.
120 BPM Art Jam, HOME, Manchester, 10.4.18
To celebrate the release of French film 120 BPM and inspire more creative activism, Instigate Arts and Manchester’s LGBTQI film club Make A Scene hosted a pre & post-screening art jam at HOME, Manchester.
Outburst Queer Arts Festival, The Green Room, Belfast, 9–18.11.17
A teach-in incorporating film, music, guest readings and group social media activism, after which the work went on show for the duration of the festival.
Queer Art(ists) Now, And What? Festival, Hackney, London, 12–15.10.17
Exhibition curated by And What? Festival with guest curation from Richard Dodwell, Olivia Laing and Evan Ifekoya.
Men’s Group, LGBT Foundation, Manchester, 5.9.17
Conversation with service users at Manchester’s LGBT community and campaigning headquarters.
QUEER ART SHOW #5, The Penthouse, Manchester, 24–29.8.17
Queer Art Show 5 explored what it means to REVOKE – to invalidate, reclaim, reverse, at the anniversary of 50 years since the partial decriminalisation of homosexual acts. Curated by Debbie Sharp, artist/director of artist-led/dyke-led project space The Penthouse. Portions of the work were on show and I gave an alternative vigil as a performance piece to close the show. This can be viewed at the video piece alongside this text.
The Queers Are Revolting!, People’s History Museum, Manchester, 10.8.17
A night of creative queer activism in response to the impact of austerity on the LGBTQ+ community. Part of Never Going Underground, a year-long season of exhibitions, events and programmes exploring the past, present and future of LGBT+ activism.
ACT UP: Thirty Years Fighting AIDS, University of York, 2.6.17
A one-day conference to mark the 30th anniversary of the founding of ACT UP, bringing together academics from a variety of disciplines to reflect upon what has changed, and what has not, in the past 30 years.
David Wojnarowicz: Close To The Knives, Islington Mill, Salford, 23.3.17
A celebration of the publication of a new edition of Wojnarowicz’s memoirs ‘Close To The Knives’ (with a new Introduction by Olivia Laing). Dr Monica Pearl of the University of Manchester spoke about her research into AIDS in twentieth century culture and her time as an ACT UP activist, while performance artist Matt Fennemore gave two performances which responded to the work of Wojnarowicz. We shared recitals from Cynthia Carr’s biography of Wojnarowicz, with short films, imagery and conversation throughout. This was the very first outing of ‘A mile of black paper’.
Further reading:
Article on Instigate Arts
Interview with Instigate Arts