Paris
France
Parc de la Villette, 19e The Artery - Garden of Drawings since 1 December 2006
without names
Located right in the heart of the park, this work was created upon the initiative of Sidaction. An "anti-monument" about life and evolution, it is a tribute to all those who have fought and are still fighting against AIDS. It is also meant to be a space for education and prevention.
It was in 2001, the year which marked the 20th anniversary of the appearance of AIDS, that the Sidaction organisation asked various artists to conceptualise a commemorative and informative monument about HIV. The Artery, a project by Fabrice Hyber, was selected. More than a monument, The Artery is a place in constant evolution. It is not only a place of remembrance and awareness of AIDS, a tribute to all those who have fought and are still fighting against the virus, but also a space for information, prevention and education.
The work consists of 16,000 ceramic tiles covering a surface of 1,001 m² and featuring hundreds of the artist’s original drawings related to the human body and behaviour. Its general outline, which was inspired by the logo of the Sidaction organisation, represents an untied red ribbon. The Artery is a gesture to symbolically untie the knot in the red ribbon, the knot created by the tensions and passions evoked by AIDS.
For two years, during 2003 and 2004, Fabrice Hyber worked on The Artery. The production of The Artery was undertaken by Sidaction and financed by the ministry of culture and communication, the City of Paris and by private funding other than donations made by benefactors of the Sidaction organisation.
On 1 December 2006, World AIDS Day, the Artery was inaugurated in Parc de la Villette by President Jacques Chirac in the presence of President-elect Nicolas Sarkozy.

Sidaction