In the hall of l’Archet hospital, Nivese Oscari lifts the sheet that covers his sculpture made up of 53 ceramic condoms. In the presence of elected officials from the municipality, nursing staff and a few relatives, the artist donated this creation to the University Hospital. Objective: raise awareness about HIV.
For Dr Hervé Cael, Health Delegate for the City of Nice: “It is important to bring art outside of museums. This allows us to discuss things other than the hospital, a Source of anxiety.“.
Through this work, Nivese Oscari pays tribute to his friends who died of AIDS: “It upset me so much. I wanted to act to raise awareness others“, insists the Niçoise who started contemporary art at the age of 28. She is the only woman from the Nice school, an artistic movement at the crossroads of several movements such as New Realism, Fluxus, Supports/surfaces…
“We have little time to act”
The HIV epidemic began in the 1980s. Today, although there are no curative treatments yet, medications allow HIV-positive people to stop the progression of the virus in the body if it is diagnosed sufficiently. early.
Infected people are then no longer contagious and can have “a normal life and even unprotected sex “, recalls Dr Hervé Cael.
With this sculpture, Nivese Oscari seeks to “remind people of the reality of this epidemic “, and challenge young people on the importance of getting tested: “We have little time to act, we are not here to judge people. Triple therapy can save your life. “
This treatment combines the actions of three inhibitors of viral multiplication in a single dose.
The sculptor had fun staging these 53 porcelain condoms: “Some condoms are disguised… one of them has the image of Pinocchio. I think that if contraceptive products were funnier, it would make young people want to use them“, smiles the 80-year-old artist.
Originally from Croatia, Nivese Oscari has already created more than 500 works. This sculpture, which took a year of work, will be visible to the public in the hall of Archet 1 hospital very soon.
