Paragraph 175

Shortly after learning she was HIV positive, Baxter was swimming in the Pacific Ocean at sunset. “A large wave came and I was thrashed under the water, tumbling and swirling. When I emerged I felt my first symptoms of seroconversion, chills and nausea. In this taking under by the waves, HIV was simultaneously overtaking my body, making my vessel its home, my blood transformed, the fluid running through me became touched by the waves of millions, the collective universe of people living with HIV and AIDS across time and space. Water’s cyclical changes make me hopeful and afraid all at once.”

The title, Paragraph 175, refers to the German statute criminalizing homosexuality from 1871 to 1994. On the verso of the drawing is a poem by Baxter of the same title, envisioning an encounter between Baxter and her late partner. These words and images evoke connections between queer people across episodes of criminalization, illness, and erasure.