Despite joint efforts by the government and non-profit health organizations in the Philippines to combat the rise of HIV/AIDS cases, the numbers of infected people continue to rise.
This is where people from all walks of life pitch in to give their share in order to help solve a global problem.
As a photographer, Niccolo Cosme began working on HIV and AIDS awareness as an accident. Back in 2008, one of his friends talked to him about contracting HIV. He was initially shocked. Niccolo admits to knowing so little about HIV and AIDS and that his learning process was not instant.
He remembers being interviewed by Kara David for GMA-7 and how embarrassed he was because Kara was asking so many questions and he had no answers to give her.
“I did not know the answers – statistics, realities, situations. After that, I knew that I had to seek help and learn more about HIV and AIDS and I am so lucky to be able to work with UN AIDS, and other great organizations,” Niccolo said.
Realizing that “it’s closer than you think” when a friend disclosed that he was diagnosed with HIV, Niccolo conceptualized his first photo exhibit on HIV in 2008 (Headshot Clinic – AWARE). The friend who came out to him about his diagnosis agreed to become a part of the exhibit. That friend was Wanggo Gallaga.
In an interview with PlusNews, Gallaga admitted, “I was worried about judgment and discrimination, but no way did I expect the flow of support and prayers from people I don’t even know. Some have come up to me on the street or messaged me [on my cellphone] to tell me that they have HIV, but would have never found the courage to openly admit it.”
Wanggo says of Niccolo, “He is not just a man with a camera; he’s an artist with a vision.”
Niccolo knew then that this was an advocacy for him.
He studied how to raise the awareness level of the people through informal ways, such as photo exhibits and the use of social media. For his headshot clinic, Niccolo would take participants’ headshots for free, but in return, they would use these photos as their profile pictures in their Facebook accounts.
Through the years, Cosme has worked in partnership with UNAIDS Philippines, and his exhibits on HIV and AIDS have been supported as well by the country offices of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). One of his artworks from the Resplendor collection will soon be installed as part of the Art for AIDS exhibit at the UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
Unknowingly and without even planning to, Cosme became an activist and an advocate for HIV and AIDS awareness.
“I think it is all about putting awareness in different media that we can find, not just brochures or television commercials,” he said, responding to a question on how to raise more awareness among the populace, a challenge that he is taking seriously.
The 32-year old visual artist has garnered awards and accolades both in the Philippines and overseas. In 2011, Niccolo topped the 7th annual PPA (Professional Photographers of America) Affiliate Asian-Pacific Image Competition in Seoul, Korea with his artwork “The Brotherhood of Men”. The photograph ranked first among more than 400 entries from different countries that included Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan and Korea. In February 2012, he was one of the recipients of the “Ani ng Dangal” (Harvest of Honors) awards of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts of the Philippines.
Resplendor
Resplendor is a collection from a series of works Cosme did back in 2010 and 2011. The artist ingeniously blends images of Christian iconography with messages on HIV and AIDS, and that is why his conceptual photographs disrupt and provoke, as well as inspire, and provide hope and reassurance.
Earlier this week, 20 photographs comprising this collection were showcased at the Philippine Center in New York. Cosme calls the exhibit “Resplendor: The Blinding Light”.
“I had envisioned to bring this collection abroad, and that dream has happened,” Cosme told the Asian Journal.
“Resplendor is reflective of the embodiment of my work. In technical terms though, resplendor is the halo around the face of the mater dolorosa or the weeping Virgin Mary,” he shares.
Niccolo delves deep into the experiences and aspirations, insights and emotions that comprise the realities of HIV and migration, particularly for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
The 20 photos in the exhibit are varied yet unified – some of the artworks are very personal, leaving most the interpretation to the viewer, while other photos have messages that share some of Niccolo’s thoughts, while allowing room for other opinions.
The Resplendor photographs have been exhibited in the Philippines at the House of Representatives, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Asian Institute of Management, and at various events supported by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). Three photographs from the Resplendor collection have been exhibited at the UN regional center in Bangkok, Thailand. One of Niccolo’s most significant works, “Pagsubok” (“The Trials”) will soon be installed at the UNAIDS headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. The conceptual photo was inspired by St. Camillus de Lelis, the patron saint of the sick, as well as of people who provide health care. “I have dedicated it to the brothers and priests of St. Camillus, my beloved friends who have devoted their lives to people living with HIV and AIDS in the Philippines and around the world,” Niccolo shares.
“As a child, I had been fascinated by images from Christian iconography, which I have infused with the pain and sorrow that come with experience and maturity. I use these images to convey meanings and evoke responses in support of my advocacies,” says Niccolo of his work.
Niccolo is the founder and Creative Director of Headshot Clinic, an electronic platform which blends photography and social networking for advocacy as well as commercial purposes. Appointed as a goodwill ambassador for Levi’s (Philippines) in 2011, he had maximized the opportunity to reach a wider audience with messages on HIV prevention and non-discrimination. In July 2012, Niccolo became a goodwill ambassador for the Philippine youth movement “Project Pagsulong,” which again gives him the opportunity to encourage and inspire young people to become involved in HIV prevention. Together with other fellow HIV advocates, he founded The Red Whistle, a cutting edge HIV prevention campaign.
“As an artist, I have understood that we need to create something that can make people feel the urgency to move and to respond, using visual and auditory symbols as a call to action for intensified advocacy on HIV and AIDS,” Niccolo explains.
As a friend and an advocate, Niccolo has become more prepared, particularly in dealing with friends and acquaintances who open up to him and admit that they were diagnosed with HIV.
“I am still emotional when I receive news like that, although I think I have become more desensitized somehow,” he admits. “There’s a lot more to learn specially on messaging to various segments of the population.”
Resplendor: The Blinding Light will be on exhibit in New York until September 7, 2012, co-sponsored by APICHA Community Health Center, 2GO Travel and 2GO Express in cooperation with Kalusugan Coalition.)
(balikbayanmag.com)
(NYNJ Mag August 31, 2012 pg.2)