This photograph was taken by Nan Goldin who was commissioned by curators at the Corcoran Gallery to take pictures of patients who were suffering with AIDS in homes and in a hospice. I felt that this was a very personal and private depiction of what it is like for both patients suffering with HIV/AIDS and their family members. The part of the photo that struck me the most was the medication at the center of the dresser. In my perspective it shows how the rigorous treatment that patients with AIDS needed is which in turn illustrates all the hardships that these patients went through as well as their determination to live. In the reflection of the mirror you can also see the patient and the family member that is taking care of her. You can clearly see the pain and anguish that both individuals are facing, which adds to the overall “realness” of their situation at the time.
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