This digital artifact commemorates the AIDS epidemic's victims while exposing the hidden forces behind its course. A red plus sign expands across a 3,306-cell grid, each unit representing a day from 1981-1990, symbolizing lives erased during society's slow response.
As the pattern grows, a black swastika materializes—not as a literal charge but as a metaphor for the eugenics-inspired ideologies and systemic prejudice that delayed research and amplified stigma. This revelation process mirrors how activism and science gradually exposed these shadow structures.
The 3-second growth cycle with 1.2-second fill echoes the epidemic's delayed recognition and institutional failures. Red represents human cost, black the hidden forces. This work asks us to remember, question, and recognize history's enduring impact on marginalized communities.