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Includes bibliographical references. ; This thesis is concerned with how South African photographers have responded to the HIV epidemic. The focus is on the different visual, political and intellectual strategies that photographers have used to document the disease and the complex issues that surround it. The study considers the work of all South African photographers who have produced a comprehensive body of work on HIV and AIDS. This includes both published and unpublished work. The analysis of the photographic work is situated in relation to other histories including the history of photography in Africa, the documentation of the HIV epidemic since the 1980s, and the political and social experience of the epidemic in South Africa. The reading of the photographs is also informed by the contexts where they are published or exhibited, including the media, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and aid organisations, and the fine art gallery and attendant publications. In addition to the theoretically informed analysis of the photographic projects, I interviewed the photographers in order to learn more about their intentions and the contributing factors that shape the production of their work. Interviews were transcribed and used to develop my analysis of their projects and working process. While a number of photographers are included in the thesis, the major focus is on David Goldblatt, Gideon Mendel, Santu Mofokeng and Gisèle Wulfsohn. This thesis is not a comparative study but rather seeks to differentiate between four very different approaches to representing HIV and AIDS in South Africa. I specifically chose to focus on projects that demonstrated alternative visual and intellectual forms of engagement with the experience of the HIV epidemic. The selection aimed to reveal the relationships between the working processes, the contexts of display and publication, and the visual languages the photographers employed. My interest lies in how and why the photographers documented this challenging subject. A close examination of South African photography reveals diverse and complex visual responses to the HIV epidemic. Importantly, some photographic projects challenge existing approaches and encourage alternative ways of looking at, and thinking about, the experience of the epidemic in the South African context.

Contemporary South African documentary photography is often framed in relation to the history of apartheid and the resistance movement. A number of well-known South African photographers came of age in the 1980s and many of them went on to receive critical acclaim locally and abroad. In comparison, Gisèle Wulfsohn (1957- 2011) has remained relatively unknown despite her involvement in the Afrapix collective and her important contribution to HIV/AIDS awareness and education. In focusing on Wulfsohn's extended engagement with the issue of HIV/AIDS in South Africa, this article aims to highlight the distinctive nature of Wulfsohn's visualisation of the epidemic. Wulfsohn photographed the epidemic long before there was major public interest in the issue and continued to do so for twenty years. Her approach is unique in a number of ways, most notably in her use of portraiture and her documentation of subjects from varied racial, cultural and socio economic backgrounds in South Africa. The essay tracks the development of the different projects Wulfsohn embarked on and situates her photographs of HIV/AIDS in relation to her politically informed work of the late 1980s, her personal projects and the relationships she developed with non-governmental organisations.

HIV literacy has been emphasised as part of HIV/AIDS campaigns throughout the world. The South African Government's allocation of past and present funding indicates substantial support for HIV/AIDS education with the emphasis on prevention. Commitment to the new HIV and AIDS and STI National Strategic Plan 2007-2011 for addressing the epidemic emphasises the importance of speeding up the delivery of HAART in South. The link between education and the provision of antiretroviral therapy lies in the need for patients to understand the nature of the HI virus and the way the medication works physiologically in order to ensure adherence, control side effects and provide the best care possible for people living with HIV/AIDS. This paper assesses the role of HIV literacy from the perspective of community health workers working in clinics in the Western Cape Province in South Africa. It looks at their daily interaction with clinic patients, as well as their experience of the HAART rollout. It aims to evaluate the impact of HIV literacy on the communities they work in and the limitations of education in supporting the provision of health care for people living with HIV/AIDS.

Since antiretroviral treatment was first made available in the public health care sector in 2004, there has been an urgent need to train people working in the field and increase biomedical knowledge about HIV/AIDS within the South African population.? This paper aims to assess the potential of further developing the technique of body mapping as an HIV/AIDS educational tool for adults in HIV-positive support groups. It will involve an evaluation of the Longlife Project, the body mapping workshop process and individual body maps.? While the over-arching intention of the Longlife Project was advocacy in the face of government resistance to providing antiretroviral treatment at the time, its proposed advocacy could not take place without education.? Building on this premise, together with an analysis of the body maps and interview transcripts found in the book Longlife: Positive HIV Stories it is suggested the creation of body maps increased biomedical understanding of HIV/AIDS and to some extent heath-enhancing behaviour.? Apart from gaining factual knowledge about their health, the women involved in the project also engaged in conversation that provided a rich opportunity for discussing the personal, emotional, cultural and socio-economic challenges of being HIV-positive in South Africa.? Both the body mapping and conversation processes will be situated within adult education theory and discussed in relation to 'transformational learning', 'critical consciousness', community art-based learning, peer education and Participatory Research practice.? By assessing the strengths and failures of these concepts within an African context the potential for body mapping to be employed as an HIV/AIDS education tool will be further developed.