condomcloud

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Condom Cloud 2025 | West Hollywood, California

>DAY THREE | SUN 27 JUL → Sunset Strip

The third and last day was on the fabled Sunset Strip. Passers-by didn't engage as much as the other iterations, but it was rewarding to present the piece on the street. The Viper Room was fashionable around the time I made the original Condom Cloud (Johnny Depp's club where River Phoenix overdosed). Supreme has a unique history that also dates to the early to mid 90's. More documentation to come. Viper Room photo by Brigitte Smeza, Supreme photo from drunk girl on the street.

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> DAY TWO | SAT 26 JUL → West Hollywood Park

We felt more confident this day. We were familiar with the materials and more at ease in our roles. I knew the energy would be relaxed and that the setting would elevate the piece visually. Grateful to the talented Anabelle Lee Dehm for capturing it all so beautifully.

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Condom Cloud 2025 | West Hollywood, California

> DAY ONE | FRI 25 JUL → Plummer Park

Normally, I’d inflate a bunch of condoms and attach them to my body so the entrance has impact. But because we had three hours to fill (and previous versions hadn’t invited much public interaction) I decided we’d start minimalist: just one condom each. We'd slowly build the “cloud” over time.

As we dressed in the parking lot, my final note to Brigitte was that we should be solemn but approachable. I used the example of a funeral director: warm, composed, with a comforting gravitas. I imagined our presence as statuesque and the action as quiet, steady, and purposeful, with occasional interaction.

That all changed immediately.

The park was small and enclosed, mostly filled with families and young children. The moment we entered, we were swarmed. There was no space for solemnity so we recalibrated quickly. Smiles. Innocent banter. Playfulness. We weren’t quite used to the materials yet. We had prepared 100 ribbons with metal rings (to attach to wrists and to weight them down, keeping them eco-safe).

After the first hour, we found our rhythm and (admittedly) felt like balloon vendors. Not what we expected, but not unwelcome either. On the way to the venue, I’d told Brigitte my dream was to see 100 inflated condoms scattered across the landscape as a living sculpture. Plummer Park exceeded that by far. We had to return to the car for more materials. In the end, 150 balloons floated through the park, mostly on the wrists of exuberant children.

Some parents were really cool. Others, visibly uncomfortable. One couple asked if they were condoms (obviously!), and when I confirmed, they declined for their child. I get it. Still, it plants a seed��forces a conversation. That’s a form of micro-activism I fully embrace.

Two moments stand out:

Early on, a bold, attention-seeking child (future artist, clearly) looked at a deflated condom and declared, “It looks like a cucumber!” She wanted to know what kind of balloon it was because she’d never seen one like that before. It was early in the day, and we were still cautious, worried the villagers might rise up. They didn’t. All was well.

Later, out of nowhere, a small child looked at me and asked, “Are you a boy?” Flustered and not wanting to ruffle feathers, I answered reflexively: “Sorta.”

Photo: Still from video by Jamie McMurray

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FIRST PERFORMANCE IS THIS EVENING!!!

Yesterday I scouted the first site (Plummer Park) at the hour we are set to perform this evening. Here are some Sun Shad maps with UV index for our time. Sun protection won't be as big of an issue as I imagined. More concerned with mosquitoes at sunset! We've been getting bitten.

It's a big day with last minute things. Tonight is a bit of an experiment, we'll work out the kinks for the other two locations.

I found a great place to rent a helium tank. It's large! Worried it will upset the cart (literally, tip it over). May need a counterweight of some kind. It's also a bit expensive. But so happy I found a business in the area that is black and gay owned. I'd love to get the tank this morning but I don't want to drive there and back to where I'm staying, so I think I'll get it in the early afternoon and figure it out right beforehand (scary!). Here's the place (they've been great!).

Of course there are a ton of small things. I want to put together a kit of things we may need during the 3 hour performance: Sunscreen, bug spray, water, external battery (charging devices), scissors, small tools, tape etc.

I want to pick up a few things yet - especially some containers to hold the materials (silver rings, red ribbon, condoms, scissors), along with the 'kit' items listed above. I'll try a second hand shop first before going to a commercial chain store. I'm always disappointed at how much I lean on big box stores and amazon for art work. I try other places but they really have a corner on the market. All I can do is try to avoid it as much as possible and use them as last resorts.

I'm nervous, yes, but also trying to see this evening as a test run, a dress rehearsal. I'm not slacking, but I don't wanna set myself up for disappointment so I'm keeping my expectations low. I know a lot of folx will be there this evening who are influential so I do indeed want to make a good impression...but if I worry about failure it'll all go to shit. So I'm trying to keep the stakes low and keep my head on straight to do the best job we can under the circumstances. I'm confident it will go well.

OH! one of my BIGGEST CONCERNS is that in my tests the condoms didn't stay inflated very long. I've done this work before and the condoms lasted a few hours - three at least - but in our tests they faded after 90 minutes. So we may be dealing with sinking condoms...but determined to embrace that, as well. Heat, humidity, wind...all can impact the duration of the inflation. But the objects themselves, even deflated, are interesting. I must trust in myself, in my work, and in my collaborators, a difficult thing to do.

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Condom Cloud tests. iPhone photos by @fotobymateo-blog. More images from this shoot coming soon!

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Condom Cloud test.

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The City of West Hollywood presents 𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘖𝘥𝘥𝘗𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦𝘴 (𝘈𝘪𝘖𝘗) 2025: 𝘝𝘖𝘐𝘊𝘌, a citywide performance art festival Curated by Deborah Oliver, July 25 – 27, 2025, 4:00 – 9:00 p.m. 🎉 I’m thrilled to announce my participation in this year’s edition of AiOP! If you’re on the West Coast, you have THREE chances to catch my work:

FRI 25 JUL → Plummer Park SAT 26 JUL → West Hollywood Park SUN 27 JUL → Sunset Blvd

For the VOICE edition I’ll be re-creating a performance art piece originally conceived in the early 90s in response to the AIDS epidemic, titled CONDOM CLOUD. This reimagined version will be presented for three hours at each location, serving as a powerful reminder that in our current moment SILENCE STILL EQUALS DEATH - maybe more than ever...

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INITIAL IDEAS

Above photo by Sami Emory for VICE.com review of Art AIDS America, Alphawood Foundation, Chicago 2017.

Here are some initial ideas I want to put out into the ether.

The laundry trolley (in the image below), or something similar, will be perfect for a mobile condom inflation station to cart the helium and other materials while providing a place to hang the ribbons. Brigitte Smeza will be assisting me with this as a performer, assistant, and occasional documenter.

Also, the step stool is shown because I'm interested in getting a 5XL dress and standing stationary on the stool, bending down to gift the condom balloons to passers by - my dress falling all the way down to the ground. This elevated position will be a striking image.

I'm thinking of putting small clips on the ends of the ribbon. This would allow for multiple forms of attachment and have more substance than just a knot. It might be too labor intensive or too expensive, but it would be great. They could be clipped anywhere on my costume. I could also clip them to passersby (with their permission, of course!). In the last iteration of this piece the ribbons were around my neck - I like this - but perhaps they're attached somewhere else this time...or multiple places...

Know that I will be making the ribbons shorter than in the past - only about three feet so they are more manageable for people to take with them and I'll have a little more clearance above me (especially for the street performance where overhanging signs and branches could be a problem). So the cloud will float just above my head.

I'm not sure what the weather will be like, but I'm sensitive to sun and heat. I'm looking at dresses that are %100 Linen (preferred) or maybe cotton. But loose and cool. I'm most attracted to the sleeveless ones that simply drape from the shoulders, but then the shoulders are bare. I found some long sleeve options, too. I'll get a variety to test.

Cage skirts could be used to hold inflated condoms and they would show! This will be a great image!! I imagine wearing a big cage hoop skirt, red or white depending on the base color - to contrast, and inside it will be filled with inflated condoms...holding me up...I found a small/short one for Brigitte, perhaps a contrasting color.

I'd like to dye the white dresses hombré from deep black/red at the bottom through bright red to white to white at the top - as if we walked through blood and mud. BUT somehow I want it to look more chic than halloween. A good dye job will help - a quality hombré - but maybe some sparkle or velvet or something to contrast/elevate it. We'll see...it might be too much.

Side note: I do see Brigitte's role as an acolyte in this performance but admit that I'm not totally comfortable with the hierarchical imagery and want to go on record as knowing it's not great. But I'm still going forward and will try to find opportunities to offset that power dynamic.

We'll also need quality sunglasses, a ton of sunscreen, perhaps a light scarf or poncho (for the neck/arms), and back-up hats or parasols. AND water of course!

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CONDOM CLOUD | Remounting the 1995 performance for Art AIDS America (5:17 min)

December 3 | 2016 | Alphawood Foundation | 2401 N. Halsted Street

Condom Cloud is a performance art piece created and performed by Joseph Ravens that captures the artist at a time when he was grappling with feelings of fear, anger, shame, and loss during the AIDS epidemic. Sculptural costume defines a protagonist who struggles to survive his own impending annihilation.

Photos: Video Stills

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CONDOM CLOUD | The original piece circa 1995, performed for the camera (2:36 min)

TEXT by Joseph Ravens:

condom cloud casts a shadow on my sanity stealing satisfaction replacing it with pseudo-safety  condom cloud keeps chasing me something like an enemy promising protection within its rubber walls a snare to catch my liquid lust cannot share will not trust one little tear and i’ll be dust condom cloud come rain come hard love marred by rubber inconvenience a rubber unseen fence: “some things are not allowed beneath the shadow of a condom cloud” condom cloud come rain  come hard come all picnic by my bloodstream beneath the weeping willow watch the world float by red screams into my pillow red screams out loud: “you can find me in a crowd, i’m the one beneath the condom cloud!” condom cloud come rain  come hard come all fall into my bloodstream dive into my shame swim among my fear help me find the blame nothing stays the same condom cloud keeps chasing me something like an enemy promising protection within its rubber walls capture calls i can hear our mothers crying

Photo: CONDOM CLOUD by Joseph Ravens_1995 VHS Still from Video by Mark GE / Joy Farm

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CONDOM CLOUD 3.0 will be chronicled here. I will also use this platform to reflect on the first and second iterations of this performance artwork, originally created in 1995. - Joseph Ravens

BLOG FORMAT >>> Scroll to the very bottom to view chronologically.

In July Ravens will re-embody CONDOM CLOUD, a performance originally created in the 1990s in response to the AIDS epidemic, when suffering was met with societal silence. A spectacle born from the urgency of Silence = Death, the piece gives voice to those ignored by mainstream media. 

For this third iteration, Ravens stands beneath a cloud of helium-filled condoms, offering them to passersby and requesting that they keep the memento mori until it deflates—as a reminder that silence is still deadly today.

CONDOM CLOUD speaks across decades, echoing the oppression of marginalized communities then and now. Our current social crisis must be met with VOICE—abundant, unified, and deafening in its demand that we will not descend into authoritarianism!!!