The central focus of the exhibition will be Survival AIDS, a series of photo weavings comprised from c-print grid-collages of scanned newspaper clippings that Reynolds began collecting between 1989 and 1993. The clippings are grouped by formal and thematic connections with additional layered images that reference Reynolds’ modes of artistic practice; spots of his HIV-positive blood; portraits of Patina Du Prey, his gender-fluid alter ego that spun through the streets of Germany, New York and California; and images of his Mummification performances in which he is wrapped in cellophane and tape that forms a skin which is displayed after he emerges. Through his layering of media, Reynolds has abstracted messages and infused his own images to create a space within the work where artist and audience, present and past, exist simultaneously. While his earlier works in the Survival AIDS series sought to preserve a particular moment in history, this collection turns inwards, using historical, politically charged documents to recreate a visual retelling of his own personal narrative.

The body – expressed through his Mummification performances, and the skins that he sheds as a result, are a symbol of transformation. They are on view and depicted in the photo weavings, as symbols of the artist reclaiming his diseased body– taken together with Medication Reminder, the works in this exhibition tell Reynolds’ own personal mythology, as well as that of his community and those he loved.

Reynolds will be having a concurrent exhibition and performance at EXPO Chicago (Sept 14- 20) featuring a monumental photo weaving, composed of clippings scanned from the archives of ACT UP Chicago and Dr. Daniel Berger, a Chicago doctor known for his cutting-edge work with HIV and AIDS patients.