Suzi Lovegrove – Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt panel

Quilt panel, part of Australian AIDS Memorial Quilt, in memory of Suzi Lovegrove, 'Suzi', cotton / metal / synthetic textile / paint, made by Mouse, Sydney New South Wales, Australia, 1993 Rectangular quilt panel, landscape orientation. The panel background is made of heavy cream cotton fabric. A large black cotton rectangle is centred and attached by six red ribbons and six small brass safety pins. One in each corner and one in the centre of the upper and lower edges. A smaller white cotton rectangle of fabric is machine stitched to the black fabric. On this in hot pink paint the following is screen printed; 'SUZI Troy's mother 1955-1987'. This quilt was made by Mouse, Sydney, New South Wale, Australia, 1993. Mouse was a friend of Suzi's husband and a seamstress. She helped Vince Lovegrove make a panel for his wife, Suzi. This panel was stitched with other panels to make the first quilt block. Almost to the day six years later Suzi and Vince's son,Troy, died. It was Troy's wish that his panel be next to his mother's. As this was not possible due to the fact that Suzi's quilt panel was sewn in the first quilt block Mouse made another panel to Suzi, using the same colours as were used in the first panel and are also used in Troy's panel, so that Troy could be next to his Mother. Troy was born with AIDS. Suzi Lovegrove (1955-1987) was an HIV-positive American-born woman whose battle with AIDS was chronicled in a landmark television documentary made at her request, entitled Suzi's Story, which premiered on Australian television in 1987. Her son Troy contracted the virus while still in the womb, and died at the age at 7 on 3 June 1993. Suzi Lovegrove was originally an actress known as Suzi Sidewinder. In 1983, she had a small part in the film Get Crazy, playing a member of Nada's band (Nada was played by Suzi's friend Lori Eastside, who later appeared briefly in Suzi's Story). It was while promoting this movie, on a flight between the U.S. and Australia, where she met future husband Vince Lovegrove. Vince had been the lead singer of The Valentines in the 1960s and later went on to manage Divinyls and Jimmy Barnes.