This small yet exceptionally thoughtful display centres around community responses to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Guest curated by Scottish charity Waverley Care, archival material from the 1980s is the predominant focus; however the epidemic’s longevity is conveyed through a five decade-spanning timeline which maps Scotland against international developments. Between 2003 and 2017, there is a comparatively large gap in the record of Scotland’s HIV Story: clarification on why this is the case may have enhanced the timeline. 

This display contextualises the archival material among a climate of homophobia and demonisation of drug users, but care, love and collective effort is the order of the day here. In this refreshing approach, which foregrounds the multiplicity of experiences, there is an interjection of humour, too. For instance, a gay men’s health magazine sought to call out HIV-related myths on their ‘bollox’, adopting a no-nonsense tone of voice which does not induce anxiety. 

As often is the case within grassroots activism, campaigners turned to arts and crafts as an advocacy tool, but also as a medium for inner healing. From gorgeous glass mandalas created at the Solas drop-in centre in Abbeyhill to a cherished cross-stich pattern, Blood, Sweat And Tears successfully conveys the array of cultural artefacts emerging from the epidemic and enriching our archives. 

Blood, Sweat And Tears, National Library Of Scotland, until 2 December.