Tessa Boffin
Untitled #5, 1989
Archival inkjet print
Print: 89.3 x 70.6 cm
35 1/8 x 27 3/4 in
Paper: 111.5 x 76.2 cm
43 7/8 x 30 in
35 1/8 x 27 3/4 in
Paper: 111.5 x 76.2 cm
43 7/8 x 30 in
Angelic Rebels: Lesbians and Safer Sex (1989) is a five-part fantasy allegory. The work disrupts the idea of lesbian 'purity' in the climate of AIDS. Reimagining Albrecht Durer's 'Melencolia' engraving,...
Angelic Rebels: Lesbians and Safer Sex (1989) is a five-part fantasy allegory. The work disrupts the idea of lesbian 'purity' in the climate of AIDS. Reimagining Albrecht Durer's 'Melencolia' engraving, Boffin's narrative arc follows a depressed angel who is enlightened by the discovery of safe sex practices.
In a black box studio, Boffin sets the scene with an everchanging backdrop image as the story progresses. Starting with the tabloid headline: ‘AIDS: Good Samaritan Victim’ and ending with a crescendo of medieval angels. The angel, having been visited by a clingfilmed lover, rises in ecstasy tethered only by a leather harness. The work combines dark humor with serious art historical references. The studio setting allows for a blank, imaginative space allowing for conversations about sex and pleasure in the context of AIDS to be strategically had through artistic intervention.
In a black box studio, Boffin sets the scene with an everchanging backdrop image as the story progresses. Starting with the tabloid headline: ‘AIDS: Good Samaritan Victim’ and ending with a crescendo of medieval angels. The angel, having been visited by a clingfilmed lover, rises in ecstasy tethered only by a leather harness. The work combines dark humor with serious art historical references. The studio setting allows for a blank, imaginative space allowing for conversations about sex and pleasure in the context of AIDS to be strategically had through artistic intervention.
Exhibitions
Tessa Boffin: 1989-1993, Hales New York, USA, 2023Every Moment Counts - AIDS and its Feelings, Henie Onstad Art Center, Oslo, 2022
Hot Moment, Auto Italia South East, London, UK (2020)
Ecstatic Antibodies: Resisting the AIDS mythology (1990) co-curated with Sunil Gupta. The Arts Council funded exhibition toured the UK and North America with Impressions Gallery, York to the following venues: Impressions York, Ikon Birmingham, Chapter Arts Centre Cardiff, Battersea Arts Centre London, Street Level Glasgow, A la maison de la culture Frontenac Montreal Canada (1990-1991)
Publications
'Ecstatic Antibodies, Resisting the AIDS mythology', Edited by Tessa Boffin and Sunil Gupta, (Rivers Oram Press: London, 1990), Designed by John Gibbs, Funded by Arts Council England
‘Stolen Glances: Lesbians Take Photographs’, Edited by Tessa Boffin and Jean Fraser, (Pandora Press, 1991), p. 181.