The National HIV Story Trust (NHST) and the Fitzrovia Chapel present Survivors – The Art of Defiance, a photographic exhibition featuring 16 portraits of long-term survivors of HIV by Dutch fine art photographer Danielle van Zedelhoff.
Working in a style reminiscent of 17th-century Old Master painting, van Zedelhoff’s images were commissioned during the filming of the first 100 interviews collected by the NHST, with excerpts from those interviews also featuring in the show.
“These survivors are witnesses to our history,” says van Zedelhoff. “I have tried to capture a reflection of their strength, of the fragility of beauty in their imperfection: the connections between the landscape of skin and their inner selves.”
Paul Coleman, Co-Founder and Chair of the NHST, said: “These portraits show real people’s vulnerability and strength. Danielle’s work captures the dichotomy between adversity and fortitude, reminding us that at the heart of HIV are human beings.”
The exhibition is hosted at the Fitzrovia Chapel, the only surviving building of the former Middlesex Hospital, where Princess Diana opened the UK’s first dedicated AIDS and HIV wards in 1987, and a longstanding venue for exhibitions exploring that legacy.
Free entry.
Tue–Thu 11am–6pm
Fri 11am–4pm.
Fully wheelchair accessible.
Fitzrovia Chapel, Fitzroy Place, 2 Pearson Square, London W1T 3BF