Untitled by David Wojnarowicz, 1988, Collage of chromogenic prints and acrylic, 11 × 13 1/4in. (27.9 × 33.7 cm), Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

As homophobia began to surge at the height of the AIDS epidemic, it was important for there to be an oppositional voice to the dehumanizing narrative about gay men. At the time, it was radical to be expressive and out there with your queerness, it was a form of resisting what so many people wanted to remain hidden from the mainstream. David Wojnarowicz’s collages began to mimic this expression; this collage used two overlapping figures rendered as dark silhouettes, their bodies filled with horizontal strips of color film of Wojnarowicz’s naked body, to portray intimacy. The figures lean into one another, suggesting protection, or even a shared struggle, while their faces dissolve into layered imagery rather than fixed identities. Within the silhouettes, more film strips fragment different domestic scenes and bodies that help evoke the passage of time. Pieces like this served to remind audiences that queer relationships were so much more than just crude eroticism, that their relationships were as real as anyone else’s, straight or not straight. It reminds society that intimacy, connection and emotional dependency were also pillars of reality for the LBTQ community.

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