Silence = Death, 1987, Joe's Cafe, East Vancouver, Canada

Silence = Death street art on the side-door of the infamous "Joe's Cafe" on Commercial Drive, affectionately referred to as "The Drive" located in East Vancouver, BC, Canada. This photo was taken in 1987 at the beginning of the worldwide AIDS Epidemic.

The Silence=Death Project, best known for its iconic political poster, was the original work of a six-person collective based in New York City at the time. The group decided to use abstract language in an attempt to reach multiple audiences. Together they created the Silence=Death poster using the title phrase and a pink triangle, known from its association with the persecution of homosexuals in Nazi Germany in the 1930s and 1940s.

The Silence=Death poster was also used by the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT UP) as a central image in their activist campaign and fight against the AIDS epidemic. Because of ACT UP's advocacy, the pink triangle still remains synonymous with AIDS activism.