James Welsby is heading Fringe World to deliver his acclaimed work ‘Hex’.

“‘HEX’ is a one hour dance show about AIDS, activism and disco. This show is about the specter of the AIDS crisis within the gay community. For anyone who was born after 1981 we’ve grown up in a world where HIV and AIDS is a reality,” Welsby explained.

“I was born in 1987, the year which has the most AIDS related deaths.” Welsby said. “ It’s also the year they released the Grim Reaper campaign, Australian’s first fear campaign and the year ACT-UP was formed.”

“In my opinion there has been a rise in apathy.” Welsby said. “The HIV/AIDS crisis is something affects every single gay man on the planet on way or another, whether you are dealing with the virus in your body or the virus in your community, it affects every single gay man.”

“What I wanted to do with ‘HEX’ was make a dance show that was both retrospective and contemporary. So it references 1981 through to 1996 very strongly, using dance styles that were popular at that time, but it’s also mashed with the contemporary experience.”

Welsby highlights that one of the aims of ‘HEX’ was to create an intergenerational discussion about HIV and AIDS. Since he first began making the work two years ago Welsby feels there has been a change in the queer community.

“At that time within my circle of friends there were several people who had discovered that they were HIV positive. There was this shifting social dynamic. You could say that maybe safe sex had gone out of popularity. There was a higher level of ignorance and apathy, and there was a spike in HIV notification. That’s why it was urgent to address this.

“One of the biggest issues today is stigma, and that comes from ignorance. A lot of gay men don’t understand what an undetectable viral load is. They don’t understand that people who are HIV positive, who are informed about their status and are taking antiretroviral therapy are at such a low risk of passing the virus on. The biggest risk is not knowing your status.”

Welsby agreed that in recent years we’ve started to see a change in attitudes within the LGBTIQ community with  a renewed push towards testing and having open discussions about status.

Catch James Welsby in ‘HEX’ from February 10th to 14th. Head to www.fringeworld.com.au for tickets.

Graeme Watson
Image James Brown