After Silence

CANCELED
Bal Harbor Village, Florida

Documenting gay culture through reference to print media and pornography, Pacifico Silano’s work addresses the AIDS/HIV crisis and sexual desire via a suggestive queer lens. Silano was to exhibit “After Silence” at Bal Harbour Village, Florida this month. However, after relentless curatorial censorship and the removal of all references to “queer” culture and identity in the exhibit’s press release, he has chosen to separate his art from the exhibit. After having his work deemed too inappropriate for being “suggestive,” and following several initial edits to the artwork itself and artist statement, Silano chose to pull his work from the show, stating: “My work is about the history of images and how over time their meanings shift and change. Bal Harbour wanted to completely censor and remove the context of my work for a more family-friendly exhibition.” In an email to Hyperallergic, Silano also commented: “Sadly, Miami-Dade County has the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses in the United States. This show could have been an opportunity to meaningfully engage with this issue.”

Read the entire article on Hyperallergic