Safe Sex 1988

Curator: Just look at this, 'Safe Sex', completed by Keith Haring in 1988. It's mixed media, incorporating both acrylic paint and graphic art techniques, really striking. Editor: The high-contrast palette definitely grabs you. There's something urgent, even playful about it despite the serious undertones, but something sinister too. I am especially taken by the bodies' patterning against that hard black ground, also the Xs where we expect the faces to be. Curator: Indeed. It was produced during the height of the AIDS crisis, and we must view it as direct socio-political commentary. The composition itself, these figures linked arm in arm, points to community, to mutual support but also to the risk associated with intimacy. Editor: That black backdrop makes me think of the silence, or perhaps denial, surrounding the crisis back then. Haring consistently challenged those silences. And isn't it powerful how he merges personal and political expression? Sexuality, fear, desire... it's all here, distilled into these graphic forms. Are those Xs symbols for cancelling death, even oblivion? Curator: Perhaps. What’s crucial to acknowledge is the agency given to the figures. They appear animated, powerful even, suggesting an ability to protect oneself, underscored by the 'thumbs up', in contrast to the fear so prevelant at the time. The figures assert themself, their sexuality is potent and in control, a striking departure from a societal norm in those dark years. Editor: Agreed. This image doesn't preach, it empowers. Haring gave a visual vocabulary to an entire generation facing profound anxiety and loss. Curator: In revisiting the work of Haring today, there are complex layers relating to visibility and self determination to unpack. It makes you contemplate where we were, where we are and where we are going as a society. Editor: Absolutely. It still speaks volumes, doesn't it? Its messages are as alive now as when Haring first put paint to canvas, perhaps even more so.