AIDES safe sex posters

AIDES is a European HIV/AIDS NGO founded in 1984. They recently commissioned two safe sex posters with the theme "Explore. Just Protect Yourself" which won a bronze medal at Cannes. I doubt we'll be seeing them plastered around public spaces in the US anytime soon. The detail shown above is one of the only work-safe parts of the poster.

(Art is by James Jean.)

NSFW Link

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eightcell

“(Art is by James Jean, or so say some of the folks in the comments section.)”

Or so says the page you linked to under “Credits”: “Illustrator: James Jean” ;)
hohum

@15, In my mind it doesn’t need to be plastered with condoms and constant reminders of the problem of AIDS. The first message is that it’s okay to “explore,” that it’s healthy to try things. This is presented through the imagery – a dreamy, surreal vision of sexuality. I think it’s great because it’s contrary to the tired “don’t have sex, but if you do, use a condom.” The message presented by these posters addresses more of a reality – exploring your body and the bodies of others is a normal, healthy thing.

But, I think the posters are very successful at promoting safe sex as well. Even though there aren’t condoms everywhere, there is the condom surrounding the focal point of either. This is immediately apparent, and makes perfect sense along with the message of “exploring, but protecting yourself.” In case you somehow miss the human-sized condom, the imagery is so beautiful and compelling, that your eyes want to move through it, and eventually you land on the message at the bottom-right, which brings the whole thing around full circle. I think it’s a brilliant execution of a great message.
Hexatron

awesome. it’s a shame that we americans don’t have sexual organs and are terrified of this sort of thing, otherwise these should be posted everywhere.
Kabur Naj

@11, You may be interested to know that the 1996 Ig Nobel Prize for Public Health was awarded to a study which found that inflatable dolls *can* in fact be disease vectors. You never know for sure whether your doll is being etirely faithful to you!

http://improbable.com/ig/ig-pastwinners.html#ig1996
holtt

I laughed when I saw this, because it’s so much like “Sporn” – porn created using the new Spore game Creature Creator – a lot of “penis creatures” showing up.

See http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/?p=1947 for an amusing collection.
Takuan

lovely! Like a Rackham.
Kit10inDublin

I’m not impressed. There is undoubtedly a lot of artristry and talent in both images but the image of the woman looks like a petrified and prettified blow-up doll (a subliminal message perhaps?!jk) and the male one is confusing. I can’t see any message about AIDS per se in either image except for the condom. Maybe it’s more akin to South Park’s AIDES joke as per the organisation’s name…. ;)

Tis a pity cos, as most people, know AIDS and other STD cases are continually rising.
clueless in brooklyn

wow. those two illustrations are amazing. i’ll be the first to say that they are a bit arousing. both of them. yeah, that’s right.
cgcurrie

My impression is that these are targeted at a younger audience, so it’s not likely they’d be up in any workplaces, US or otherwise. What’s depressing to me is that US culture is so repressed that art of this quality has to be labeled “not work-safe.”

Someday, we’ll realize that this national prudish obsession is as unhealthy as a sex addiction, and we can prescribe the country a good dose of therapy to get over ourselves.
eclectro

Well, after viewing that I need to go to the doctor and have a checkup now. Thanks boing boing!
Jed Alexander

Ok. This is a little confusing. Yuko Shimizu:

http://www.yukoart.com/news/sex.html (see upper left hand corner thumbnail)

Apparently did an illustration nearly identical to Jean’s. I mean, the exact same composition.

The interesting thing is: Yuko is a friend of Jean’s and has defended Jean in the past against an artist who seemed to be plagiarizing Jean’s style. So my guess is that this is done with the permission of Ms. Shimizu, or visa versa.
urbanspaceman

Every time I’ve tried to view these posters, I get a message which says “This content is for subscribers only”. Subscribing costs close to US$100.00.
Cunning

Holy beautiful. Of course the male’s sexual universe consists of an array of female parts while the female’s sexual universe consists entirely of male genitalia. I am so sick of being objectified as a nothing more than a walking wiener! My eyes are up here ladies!
darlin_nikki

So this is what Ariel has been up to since the Little Mermaid.
shoesaphone

These are really cool. It does seem odd, though, that (as far as I could see) neither of them even hints at a same-sex encounter.
koolkev

I want to go to that safe sex boy galaxy. Yah, you talk’n now. Some French boys are going to get inspired to become astronauts.

As for no hint of same sex encounter, cum on, intertwined penis’, schools of penis’, what looks like girl on girl kissing. One boy hundreds of girls or one girl and hundreds of boys. They are just about sex. There may be a hetrocentric symbol in front i.e. one gender in front of the opposite gender but there is a hint of all kinds of sex.

I think it would be way sexier in French since they come from Paris, and I don’t think this is TX.
dheard

I think we’re being negligent not giving credit to the Artist. Everyones favorite illustrator:
Mr James Jean!
Where’s the love Boing Boing?
jackbird

The male one appears to hint at an interspecies encounter of a bovine nature towards the upper left.
Jelf

Ah. The talented Mr. Jean.

He’s so good, it makes me feel slightly sick.
maryofkentucky

I would love to get posters of these for my mom. She works as an investigator for the state in the department of epidemiology and she has safe sex posters up all over her walls in her office. Does anyone know if I can buy these as posters? I went to the site, but it doesn’t look like I can. Maybe I missed it, ha ha.
RedShirt77

Although I must say there is an interesting erotic quality to them both…

But, coral reefs and sea turtles made of penises? Disembodied vagina and breast asteroid belts Stuck together with spendings?

Something about it makes me want a spacesuit.
eightcell

James Jean is awesome.
Jesse M.

Jackbird, I think you may be mistaking some dark-skinned human flesh splattered with a white milky substance for a holstein cow. But the male one also has what looks like the head of an inflatable love doll on the upper right…in that case condoms probably aren’t entirely necessary! Also, the mouth-planet to the left of the inflatable head remind me of sexed-up versions of the green guy from the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy covers.
LyhjeHylje

It’s interesting how the genitalia of both boy and girl are purposely hidden.
So huge disembodied floating penis is ok but if you attach it to something you can’t show it?
Cool posters anyway.
Robotech_Master

I don’t know that I’d necessarily say that girl is too well “protected.” It looks a lot like that “cocktopus” tentacle on the left is getting ready to use that condom for its actual purpose, regardless of its current occupant.
Jason McIntosh

I like the subtle fact that the girl’s exploring a liquid and mysterious undersea garden while the boy is just thrusting through space like a yahoo. I laugh.