The exhibition “Problem solved? (Hi-)Stories of a virus” questions the current discurse on  HIV/AIDS. Thanks to medical progress, an HIV infection  does no longer equal a death sentence, at least in the northern hemisphere, and has largely lost  its original horror.  Today, it can be treated as a chronic illness.

But many people are still  inaedequatly informed about the consequences of   the infection and the stigma against people with HIV is still massive. The decade-long struggle for gender-equitable research, worldwide access to   affordable medication and  unbiasedsupport is yet to be won, but slowly and surely, disappears from social memory. The problem has not been solved!

 

Starting with Zurich in the 1980s and 1990s, the exhibition  highlights the connections to the current situation. It presents HIV/AIDS in the context of social politics , medical research, activism, community work,  rememberence and grief culture. The exhibition  connects artistic positions  to historical and  contemporary information as well as a documentary archive . Added to this are 16  oral history video interviews that were recorded especially for this exhibition. They convey the experiences of people who have been professionally confronted with HIV and AIDS since the earliest times  as well as the lives of people who have been HIV positive for 20-30 years and of young people who have been living with the virus since  birth.