104 Blue Breaths (Tenofovir/Emtricitabine 9g/6g)
by D Harding
Artist
D Harding
(Australien, född 1982)
Date2022
MediumCrushed tablets and binder on Arches paper 180gsm cold pressed
DimensionsPappersmått: 162 × 113 cm
Credit LinePurchase 2023 funded by The Anna-Stina Malmborg and Gunnar Höglund Foundation
On view
StockholmRoomGallery 01:13
Object NumberMOM/2023/162
About the artworkThe blue in 104 Blue Breaths (tenofivir emtricitabine 9 g/6 g) is blown onto paper through an atomizer, each exhalation leaving a faint, circular trace of pigment. The act recalls the rock-art traditions of the artist’s native Central Queensland, where ochre pigment was similarly sprayed from the mouth to create images on stone. For D Harding, this gesture continues a collective practice; a form of mark-making carried through generations. At the same time, the work’s restrained composition and material economy echo the language of Minimalism and Postminimalism, where repetition and reduction become ways to think through form, labor, and care. In this work, the blue pigment is mixed with PrEP, the HIV-preventive medication that once circulated through the artist’s own queer body. The medication marks an individual body, while the pigment carries a collective body. When the work is transported, it is folded rather than rolled or crated flat. The paper carries the traces of this movement: visible creases, small tears, and softened edges. These marks speak to the work’s role as a stand-in for the artist’s body—both vulnerable and resilient, subject to wear and tear, positioned between an individual self and a collective ancestry.
Signatures, inscriptions and marks Ej signerad på framsidan, Title i blyerts på nedre kant Selected exhibition history Konsten att samla - Nytt i Moderna Museets samling Moderna Museet, Stockholm
Signatures, inscriptions and marks Ej signerad på framsidan, Title i blyerts på nedre kant Selected exhibition history Konsten att samla - Nytt i Moderna Museets samling Moderna Museet, Stockholm