HIV (Henry The Fourth) 2007 Beads pasted onto board by women at the Monkey Biz HIV clinic (NAMETAG ART)
59 x 44 cm (image by Ant Strack)
Henry the Fourth (Henry IV) is coded slang for HIV in Zimbabwe. It appears in Alexandra Fuller’s book Scribbling the Cat:
…. you find a decent gondie, you train them, and then the poor bastard gets Henry the Fourth and dies. Now how do you explain this?
The image of Henry the Fourth is taken from an old and mysterious painting by an unknown artist that has been translated into beadwork by women working at the Monkey Biz HIV clinic.
Monkey Biz is a non-profit organization that runs a clinic for HIV positive women. Based in Cape Town, it has a shop-front and facilitates bead work for these women (NAMETAG ART).