An Instagram page, which is currently memorialising people who lost their battle with AIDS, is gaining considerable traction online this week.
The AIDS Memorial Page allows members of the public to share photographs and memories of loved ones who died from the virus over the course of the last three decades, and there's no denying it makes for heartbreaking reading.
Reminding internet users that their siblings, partners and friends were much, much more than a mere statistic, contributors have given thousands of followers an insight into the people behind the diagnosis.
And here are just some of the posts which have struck a chord with the public over recent days.
"Springtime #Boston 1985, I was 25 and going to school at #Emerson & working various part time jobs. I came home to find my lover & partner sitting on the steps, with his face in his hands sobbing. I had an uneasy feeling what he was about to tell me. He lifted his head and sobbed that he had indeed he was infected with #HIV. All I could do was hold him, cry together and try to reassure him that somehow we would make it. He confessed, that much of his grief was not only about the terror of losing his life, which he did 6 years later, but also about his fear that he had infected me. I waited all of 9 months to a year to get the courage to get tested. I will never forget the moment the MD told me the news about my infection … #JudyCollins was on the radio singing #SendintheClowns…that song will always be profoundly memorable for me, as if it wasn't already. After the initial shock, horror & depression subsided at 26, I made a vow to live as deeply, purely and passionately as possible with whatever time I had left. I returned to my calling as a #VisualArtist. I was open about my status & became vocal & vigilant at every turn, for ways that we could work as a community of artists and #HIVpositive people, to fight the stigma, shame, misinformation, prejudice, exclusion & negligence we faced. I had my first solo exhibition in a gallery one year after my diagnosis and devoted the exhibition to the philosophical and spiritual ideas & imagery of personal transformation. I can say that after the first couple of years of my infection I began to find ways to frame #HIV as a "blessing" buried in the "beast" of this illness and as a catalyst for growth. There have been many long, lean, hard times, as well as some glorious & peak passages during this 31 year odyssey of both living #HIVpositive & as a working artist. Today at 57 my passion for spiritual focus & living the authentic life of artistry has never been greater!" – by Karlton Johnson #whatisrememberedlives #theaidsmemorial #aidsmemorial #neverforget #neverforget #endaids #karltonjohnsonfineart #inspiredlivingmhs
A photo posted by The AIDS Memorial (@the_aids_memorial) on Jan 29, 2017 at 3:17am PST
