‘Alfred’ – Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt panel

Quilt panel, part of Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt, in memory of 'Alfred', cotton / ink / padding, maker unknown, Australia, about 1988 Rectangular quilt panel, portrait orientation, with an aqua background, backed with striped cotton material and padded with synthetic foam(?). In the upper right hand corner is a stylised yellow, red and cream sun (similar to the one on the left hand side of panel 77-1 for John Merry). There are two large birds linked by a 'pathway'(?) in gold and white, the upper bird is flying up to the sun. The lower bird is sitting and is wounded on the breast with blood flowing down. This is perhaps a reference to the medieval myth of the pelican feeding her own blood to her young which is also a symbol of the passion of Christ. There is a famous painting by Nicholas Hilliard illustrating this.). Underneath are the words 'Remembering our quiet times. Love Mark.' in ink. In the lower right corner is a shield shape with '1988' and 'Alfred' written in ink. All designs are machine appliqued.