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PIMA project set to engage art and science in International Aids Society exhibition

The Pima™ Print Portfolio is an innovative partnership between the international company Inverness Medical Innovations and the KwaZulu-Natal-based non-profit organisation Art for Humanity (AFH).

This joint project, a collaboration between groundbreaking medical technology and art advocacy, looks at the emotional response to the Pima system and how it can help those under HIV care.
Two exhibitions are being held. The first is for delegates at the 2009 International Aids Society Conference at the Cape Town ICC from 19 to 22 July 2009. The second is a public exhibition at the Alliance Française of Cape Town, 155 Loop Street , from 28 July to 14 August 2009.

The portable Pima Analyser, created and designed by Inverness Medical, counts the T-helper cells of the immune system in a small sample of blood. This is commonly known as a CD4 test. Monitoring CD4 levels makes it possible to decide when a person infected with HIV should start anti-retroviral therapy. AFH, an umbrella organisation of the Durban University of Technology, will launch the Pima Print Portfolio with four artists, in conjunction with ‘Break the Silence’, a previous portfolio targeted at HIV/AIDS awareness.
AFH has commissioned four up-and-coming South African artists, Yvette Dunn, Lawrence Lemaoana, Nontobeko Ntombela and Nicole Erasmus , to create three unique images each in the format of digital print. The images are to be based on or inspired by the artistic, cultural, sociological, medical and technical specifications of the Pima platform and the general scientific impact it has had on the HIV/AIDS pandemic. As the world of science and art join forces to educate communities, the young artists will be encouraged to ‘think outside the box’ and to consider using a variety of techniques to create their images – digital, giclée, and others.
Alex Flett of AFH says: ‘The Arts and the Sciences have always worked well in tandem, because they are both expressions of human creativity.’

The exhibition comprises 43 works (31 for Break the Silence and 12 for the PIMA portfolio). Videos will also be shown of the four artists explaining how they have interpreted the improvements this new high tech equipment will offer those suffering from HIV.

The artists’ work will feature on billboards, banners and posters on the subject of HIV/AIDS education. AFH will coordinate the project and oversee the handling of the images.
AFH plans to take the Pima Print Portfolio to rural areas in southern Africa, and is looking for exhibition opportunities in South Africa and sub-Saharan Africa . The organisation hopes to exhibit the Pima and Break the Silence Portfolio at the 2010 International AIDS Conference in Vienna and at other medical conferences abroad.

Art for Humanity is a non-profit organisation based in Durban , South Africa , specialising in producing fine art print portfolios, exhibitions, billboards and research projects that advocate various human rights issues in South Africa and internationally. For more information on the Pima Print Portfolio project or other AFH work, visit www.afh.org.za

Inverness Medical has its headquarters in Waltham , Massachusetts . The company develops new capabilities in near-patient diagnosis and monitoring, enabling people to take charge of improving their own health and quality of life. Its global leading products, services and new product development focus on infectious disease, cardiology, oncology, drugs of abuse and women’s health.

Source Alliance France, Le Cap