"Living on probation" , by Erik Pevernagie, oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm

Life offers us a flair of awareness in the breeze of our daily journey and gives free rein to explore what we are, to experience what we are not, and to find out what we may become. It grants a free ride until everything melts down into the indistinct and indefinite while walking up to the ultimate gate of non-existence.

Some fail to bear in mind that everyone is sentenced to death. Death is a treacherous virus that strikes randomly. The only truth is that nobody is going to make it out alive. We are all living on probation, and our expiry date is indefinite.

We may like to combat disease or even want to cure death. We may try to surf on the waves of infinity and attempt to kill mortality. Nobody, though, ever recovers from this lethal illness. In the meantime, we’d better unlock temporal moments that deliver touches of eternity. They, for sure, never disappoint.

Certain social groups, however, are predestined "not to be lucky" in life. People living with Aids are condemned to live on probation, and many have the feeling they are only temporarily released from death.

Chemical formulae on the canvas point out the medical researches and the urgent need for a vital remedy. A Red Ribbon appeals to the necessity of international "aids solidarity." A prototype of the painting was executed on paper, for Yvon Lambert Gallery, Paris (Art Protects)

Phenomenon: Aids and solidarity