A pink triangle against a black backdrop with the words 'Silence=Death' representing an advertisement for the Silence=Death Project used by permission by ACT-UP, The AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. Colour lithograph, 1987.

  • Silence = Death Project.
Date:
1987
Reference:
669136i
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view A pink triangle against a black backdrop with the words 'Silence=Death' representing an advertisement for the Silence=Death Project used by permission by ACT-UP, The AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. Colour lithograph, 1987.

In copyright

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Credit

A pink triangle against a black backdrop with the words 'Silence=Death' representing an advertisement for the Silence=Death Project used by permission by ACT-UP, The AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power. Colour lithograph, 1987. In copyright. Source: Wellcome Collection.

About this work

Publication/Creation

New York (135 West 29th St., #10, NYC 10001) : Silence=Death Project, 1987.

Physical description

1 print : lithograph, printed in pink and white on black ; sheet 85.1 x 56 cm

Lettering

Silence=Death. © 1987 The Silence=Death Project. Used by permission by ACT-UP, The AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power ...

Copyright note

ACT-UP © 1987 The Silence=Death Project 1987 ACT-UP The founders of the Silence=Death project later joined the ACT-UP organization in New York who gave permission to publish this poster USA 07/10/2008 UkLW Transcription from the item

Reference

Wellcome Collection 669136i

Creator/production credits

"In 1987, six gay activists in New York formed the Silence = Death Project; the six men who created the project later joined the protest group ACT UP and offered the logo to the group, with which it remains closely identified. The pink triangle was established as a pro-gay symbol by activists in the United States during the 1970s; the symbol of the pink triangle, usually turned upright rather than inverted, was a conscious attempt to transform a symbol of humiliation into one of solidarity and resistance. By the outset of the AIDS epidemic, it was well-entrenched as a symbol of gay pride and liberation" (extract from Encyclopedia of AIDS)

Exhibitions note

Exhibited in "Can graphic design save your life?" at Wellcome Collection, London, 7 September 2017 - 14 January 2018

Notes

The poster was designed, printed and distributed by the Silence=Death project prior to the formation of ACT-UP, who later used the image.

Type/Technique

Languages

Where to find it

  • LocationStatusAccess
    Closed stores

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