JL’s Passion

In January 1990, at the age of 33, the artist José Leonilson starts registering an intimate journal in a tape recorder. His views on events that shook both Brazil, such as the resignation of former president Collor, and overseas, such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, permeate his confessions. He also talks about his impressions on the various movies he used to watch. The records of this sensitive artist in tune with modern life did not intend, at first, anything more than register the harmony that existed between his life and his peculiar and intimate work. However, J.L. suffers the unexpected blow of the discovery that he himself is HIV positive. The uncertainty and urgency in his life begin to permeate his reports.