David Wojnarowicz

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David Wojnarowicz, “Untitled (One Day this Kid),” 1990-91/2018

screen print on paper (courtesy of the estate of David Wojnarowicz and P·P·O·W, New York)

The late David Wojnarowicz, former street kid, teen hustler and self-taught multimedia artist, is the subject of a disturbing but breathtaking exhibition at Vancouver’s Morris and Helen Belkin Gallery until April 5. David Wojnarowicz: Photography & Film 1978–1992 consists of over 100 prints, films and collaborative videos encapsulating the American artist’s protests against homophobia and society’s reluctance to recognize and deal with the AIDS crisis in the early 1980s.

Whether it’s an on-camera statement, as in the film Bust, or a photograph of the artist’s lips sewn shut, Untitled (Silence = Death), Wojnarowicz’s pieces reflect injustice, depression and rejection of organized religion. Untitled (One Day This Kid) is particularly prophetic. The artist superimposed an image of himself as a boy against a field of text predicting his own demise. “One day this kid will do something that causes men ... to call for his death,” it says in part. 

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Andreas Sterzing, “David Wojnarowicz (Silence = Death),” 1989

photograph (courtesy of the artist, the estate of David Wojnarowicz and P·P·O·W, New York)

Violence and death become familiar tropes. Insects, amphibians, coins and crucifixes are recurring imagery. With Untitled (Spirituality) from the Ant Series, Wojnarowicz took a picture of a crucifix, developed it, outlined the Saviour’s face in felt marker and superimposed larger-than-life ants crawling over his body. Raised as a Catholic, Wojnarowicz saw the church as both a healing influence and an instrument of corruption and violence. 

Four 8mm films transferred to video are arguably the exhibition’s centrepiece. A Fire in My Belly features images of cock fighting, bull fighting and a fire-eating circus child, among others. The theme is blood and fire. Meanwhile, death and decay is the theme of ITSOFOMO (In Search of Forward Motion), a four-channel installation that includes snakes, explosions and dying rodents. When projected onto four interlocking screens, the pace becomes frenetic. 

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David Wojnarowicz, “Untitled (Culture Mask II),”1990

photograph (courtesy the estate of David Wojnarowicz and P·P·O·W, New York)

Yet there are films of great tenderness. Beautiful People is a simple and languid film about a drag queen applying makeup. When I Put My Hands on Your Body features Wojnarowicz exploring his lover’s body with his tongue. Their kiss is especially sensuous and the artist’s voice-over narration makes it both an aural and visual love poem. 

In 1988, Wojnarowicz photographed his friend and former lover, Peter Hujar, dying of AIDS. Untitled (Deathbed Portrait of Peter Hujar) is an intrusive but powerful series. Hujar, in bed, his mouth gasping for air, is the most touching.

Wojnarowicz died of AIDS in 1992 at age 37. Although themes of impermanence, death and decay permeate his work, I found the exhibition strangely uplifting. Dazzled by his prodigious output and exceptional creativity – from technique and subject matter to execution – I felt the show is a celebration of life. ■

David Wojnarowicz: Photography & Film 1978–1992 is on view at the Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery in Vancouver from Jan. 10 to April 5, 2020.

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