Joseph Cotgrave

About

OUTPUT is excited to welcome Joseph Cotgrave (Wirral, 1993) to the gallery for his second solo exhibition. The artist works to destigmatize HIV, raise awareness and educate people’s general misconceptions through exhibitions and workshops; offering something he had wanted when he was diagnosed and found ‘there was nobody real and human to talk to.’

For his show at OUTPUT, Cotgrave is reimagining nights out in Liverpool's gay town in the gallery. After losing his sister last year, the artist experienced grief similar to how he felt after his HIV diagnosis, ‘I felt like I lost the person I was before that moment, I had to relearn something, and the same thing happened with my sister.’ The artist aims to build an environment and an atmosphere reminiscent of nights out in Liverpool when he maybe contracted HIV, with the exhibition as a shrine to his past self. Through sculpture, installation and sound, he wants to open up conversation around the culture of the gay scene, chem sex, and the stigma surrounding HIV.

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Accessibility:
The front door is heavy and there is a bell to request access. Then, there are 4 steps to get up to the space which has a small vintage shop at the front and a gallery in the back. Someone will be at the shop desk in the front if you need their a[en:on or assistance 11-6pm every day. We have a temporary ramp in the form of two channel ramps that can be requested. These are only suitable for manual wheelchairs. The channel ramps can support up to 275kg. When they are in place, the staff member in the shop or another individual will need to help wheelchair users up the ramp as it is unsafe to use alone due to the eleva:on.

Read the full venue access guide here on our website:
http://outputgallery.com/INFO/Access_Starts_Online_-_Venue_Access_OUTPUT%20gallery.pdf

Open 11-6pm every day
32 Seel St
Liverpool
L1 4BE