KEITH HARING, FERTILITY 4, FERTILITY SUITE, SIGNED SCREEN PRINT, EDITION OF 100, 1983
Rendered in bright, neon colours and bold outlines, Fertility 4 is a print from Keith Haring’s Fertility series (1983) that simultaneously looks to the horrors of pregnant women living with HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa and the hope and innocence children inspire in the world. As with other prints in the series, Haring uses a clear, positive visual language to communicate complex and troubling subject matter.
Fertility 4 shows a bright pink figure covered in yellow dashes squatting in the centre of the work, with its arms around two pregnant figures shown in black and outlined in neon yellow. Due to the dashes on the figure’s body the central figure represents HIV/AIDS in this print and has a threatening presence. However, Haring includes an ankh cross, the Egyptian hieroglyphic for ‘life’ at the centre of the figure's stomach, thus presenting the paradox between the celebration of life and living with HIV/AIDS.
Though trapped by the grasp of the menacing central figure, the two pregnant figures can be seen high-fiving and dancing, emphasised by Haring’s use of bold rounded lines to cultivate a sense of energy and movement. The resulting image celebrates the fertility of the pregnant figures, underscored by the presence of Haring’s radiant baby symbol in the bottom right corner, as well as a caution to the perils of HIV/AIDS and how it affected pregnant women and their children in certain parts of Africa throughout the 1980s.
Read more about Fertility Suite by Keith Haring.
ABOUT KEITH HARING
Known for his bold graphic style and playful sense of humour, Keith Haring is one of the most influential and adored artists of the 20th century.
Born in Pennsylvania, in 1958, Haring was a talented draughtsman as a child and developed his cartoonish style at the hands of his father and the work of Walt Disney and Dr Seuss. However it would take some time before he realised he could marry this kind of drawing with being a fine artist. Upon graduating from high school he enrolled in a commercial art school before realising he had little interest in pursuing a career as an illustrator or graphic designer. After dropping out of college he joined the hippie movement and hitchhiked across the country where he made anti-Nixon t-shirts to pay for food and Grateful Dead tickets. Learn more about Keith Haring.
