Epidemic amnesia

The photo exhibit PER7EPTION reminds
us that the AIDS epidemic is far from over

PILLS MEET POP CULTURE: “Betty Crocker”

by MATTHEW HAYS

On a cool autumn night last October, Montreal artist Jean-Pierre Pérusse came to a harsh conclusion. He resigned himself to the fact that his life, after 42 short years, was almost certainly over.

And for those close to Pérusse, this came as something of a shock. Those who know the artist, actor, activist and choreographer know he’s not the giving-up kind. But as Pérusse recalls now, he had been living with HIV for 13 years, and another round of the cocktail of retroviral medications were having brutal side effects, something he felt he could no longer take. “I really felt like my time was over,” he says now. “I felt like I couldn’t go on.”

He called his parents and close friends and indicated to them that he was not going to attempt another round of recalibrated meds. The drugs had often had a harsh effect on Pérusse; he felt if this was his time to go, then so be it.

But then Pérusse had what might best be called a queer epiphany. He thought to himself, “Why not put on a show?”

The result is PER7EPTION, a striking collection of images taken by Montreal photographer Bob Hendriks and conceived of by Pérusse. Each shot takes its inspiration from pop culture, creating an image that is fun and inviting to the viewer. But Pérusse then injects some aspect of life with HIV into the affair. “The point was to show, through these seven images, how people with AIDS see the world. I wanted to entertain, but to make people think.”

One shot is inspired by James Bond, with DJ Mark Anthony portraying a variation of the secret agent—the twist comes with his cocktail glass, which is full of retroviral drug pills. There’s a circuit-party-inspired image, where a masked twink hangs from a disco ball while hooked up to an IV full of pills. And there’s even a crime-photo shot, inspired by one of Pérusse’s favourite films, the ’70s Faye Dunaway campfest The Eyes of Laura Mars. Fabulously kitschy, the screaming-in-Technicolor photos of PER7EPTION manage to be seductive to look at while thought-provoking at once.

Forgotten, not gone

Having put on dance extravaganzas for many years at circuit parties held by the Bad Boy Club Montreal (BBCM), Pérusse has years of experience creating performance art. But Pérusse says something felt different this time around. There was a sense of urgency he felt around his own health issues, and around the things people were telling him.

“I’ve been open about my HIV status for years,” Pérusse says. “And I’ve written about it in publications. Some young people have come up to me and said how happy they were to read my articles. They said they were HIV+ too, but always felt that they couldn’t discuss it with anyone.”

Pérusse wanted to combine his sense of urgency with a campaign that would be artistic but would also raise awareness. There were two things that were driving him to distraction about the AIDS epidemic, a phenomenon that is now being buried in a wave of cultural amnesia that Pérusse sees as dangerous. One is that AIDS is now perceived by many as a treatable, manageable disease, along the lines of diabetes. That has led to point two: the spreading perception that HIV isn’t such a bad thing to have after all has led to a new complacency, and growing HIV infection rates among young gay and bisexual men.

“We’re not getting the word out there. People seem to think that if you have AIDS, you simply go on some cocktail and everything’s fine. It’s not! If you have diabetes, you take insulin and you’re usually okay. But with HIV, it’s never clear what combination of pills will work for you. Finding the correct combination takes years. If people think this is easy, I can tell them right now, it’s not.”

Ignorance as illness

But what was easy was gathering the goodwill necessary to put PER7EPTION together. Pérusse approached photographer Hendriks and activist and artist Kat Coric with the idea of a photography exhibit based on HIV issues. “What really amazed us,” says Coric, “is just how enthusiastic people were about this. Getting sponsors was no problem at all. Everyone was on board. It’s as though everyone in the community understood right away what we were saying—that AIDS has become this huge unspoken thing. It’s going on all the time—people dying, getting sick, getting the virus—but no one’s talking about it.”

Coric says she often meets young gay men who have the same sad story. “I meet up with guys in their early 20s who have seroconverted or know someone else their age who has. It’s as though safe sex is not part of their vocabulary. They need to know that sex isn’t dirty, that it can be fun and hot and still be safe. It breaks my heart to know that people are seroconverting when we know that this could have been avoided. A big part of the reason for this show was to create something of beauty, but something that would spread awareness at the same time.”

Pérusse says the exhibit’s use of iconic, nostalgic imagery is no mistake. One photo evokes the Betty Crocker persona from advertising, while another conjures up the Coppertone suntan oil magazine ad. “In a way, so much has changed with this epidemic, but in other ways, things have remained the same,” says Pérusse. “There’s still a terrible stigma involved with having it. People don’t know many of the facts. You can still be denied entry into the U.S. simply because you’re HIV+.” (Though the Obama administration has stated its intent to end this bit of legislation.)

While creating PER7EPTION was exhausting, Pérusse’s own story has taken a turn for the better. The euphoria around working on such a project gave his life a renewed sense of purpose. “I went back on a new drug regimen,” he reports. “And it seems to be working well. I’m in good health.”

If there’s one thing Pérusse hopes will come out of PER7EPTION, it’s the igniting of more discussion. “In the ’80s, the ACT UP slogan was SILENCE = DEATH. Well, no one’s talking anymore. When was the last public awareness campaign about the epidemic? We need to keep reminding people about the devastating impact of AIDS.”

THE PER7EPTION PHOTOS WILL BE
EXHIBITED FEB. 14–28 AT THE OLYMPIA
THEATRE (1004 STE-CATHERINE E.)
AND MARCH 1–29 AT SALON STÉPHANE
GAGNON (1200 AMHERST). THE
VERNISSAGE WILL BE HELD THIS
SATURDAY, FEB. 14, 5–9 P.M.
AT THE OLYMPIA THEATRE