In 1993, Gideon Mendel spent several weeks photographing Broderip and Charles Bell HIV wards at the London’s Middlesex Hospital as part of the Positive Lives project, which marked the tenth anniversary of the Terence Higgins Trust.
Gideon describes his time on the wards:
“I photographed the treatment and many other aspects of ward life including the intimate way in which staff, patients and their families related to one another… the staff, too, became far more attached to their patients than was common place in hospitals at the time”*
This collection of photographs has become part of the history of HIV and AIDS and remain a tribute to those 4 brave young men who had the courage to agree to be part of this important project.
This was Gideon’s first encounter with HIV/AIDS and one that greatly impacted the course of his life and subsequent photographic journey. We are extremely grateful to Gideon for sharing his work with us for this website.
*Mendel, G. “The Ward” Trolley Books. 2017.
