Blood Test 1985-86, Printed 1988
Moulded Paper Woodcut

"Working in his studio in San Ygnacio, Texas, Avery drew this image of his arm and cut the wooden block while waiting for the result of his first HIV test. As a gay man, he had been counselled to expect a positive result. He printed it on paper pulp made from cotton and other natural fibers that was moulded during the printing process. Avery cut into the block deeply to create the snaking mass of bulging veins. A knot in the wood produced the swollen weal of paper at the base of the biceps."
-From Exhibition Label

1984 AIDS 2010
Woodcut on Mexican Wrapping Paper

"Based in Texas near the Mexican border, Eric Avery has practiced as both a doctor and printmaker for much of his life. He made the preparatory drawing for this woodcut in 1984 and first printed it in 1990. The image is based on the type of 17th-century French woodcut that was pasted onto the doors of plague victims. The orange-pink floral wrapping paper evokes the rose’s associations with sickness, death and mourning. The skull reminded Avery of the Mexican Day of the Dead."
-From Exhibition Label