{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O301416"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O301416/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HE4589/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2014HE4589/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2014HE4589","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O301416","accessionNumber":"T.637-1997","objectType":"T-shirt","titles":[{"title":"This Excuse Doesn't Hold Water","type":"assigned by artist"}],"summaryDescription":"This shirt was created as part of an campaign organised by ACON (AIDS Council of New South Wales) in January 1990. The campaign was notable in that it acknowledged how its target audience of gay and bisexual men might choose to live their lives, including using drugs and alcohol while socialising, and chose to encourage them to make informed choices to minimise their risk of contracting HIV+. The campaign also used colour and visually appealing imagery to capture people's attention as ACON had identified a need to be more relevant to their target audience, and to try to boost them morally rather than making them feel more afraid and scared than they already did. Effective antiretroviral treatments for HIV+ did not become widely available until 1996, which meant that campaigns such as this were, and still remain essential in educating people about the risks and slowing the spread of AIDS and HIV+.\n\nThis shirt was part of a large collection of T-shirts collected by Richard L. Velleman who died in either 1994 or 1995, which included several shirts with LGBTQ+ and safe-sex themes, including rare London Pride shirts from 1985, alongside band shirts from Velleman's favourite rock and punk bands, others depicting skateboarding, surfing, and partying; and random amusing or funny shirts.\n\nWe do not know who Richard Velleman was or anything about him beyond that he collected and wore these shirts, many of which show clear signs of having formed part of an actively and enthusiastically worn wardrobe; and that the collection of shirts was donated to us in his memory. The choice of T-shirts is often deeply personal and subject to the wearer's individual taste, acting as a wearable billboard for their beliefs, tastes and other opinions.","physicalDescription":"White cotton T-shirt printed with 'This Excuse Doesn't Hold Water' and a woodcut/linocut style design showing a muscular man waist-deep in a cocktail glass, a glass of beer in one hand, with recreational pills/drugs replacing stars in the night sky around him ","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"artist","id":"AAT25103"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[{"name":{"text":"AIDS Council of New South Wales","id":"AUTH407973"},"association":{"text":"designed for","id":"x41471"},"note":""}],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"cotton","id":"AAT14067"}],"techniques":[{"text":"printing","id":"AAT53319"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Printed cotton","categories":[{"text":"Clothing","id":"THES48975"},{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"},{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Gender and Sexuality","id":"THES48940"},{"text":"LGBTQ","id":"THES266921"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2014HE4589"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"005","id":"THES309403"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"T-shirt","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Australia","id":"x30016"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1990","earliest":"1990-01-01","latest":"1990-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Donated by Andrew Shanahan in memory of Richard L. Velleman","dimensions":[],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"THIS EXCUSE DOESN'T HOLD WATER\r\nBeing \"soooo out of it\" is no excuse for unsafe sex. Never was, never will be. If you like to mix sex with booze or drugs, fair enough. Just make sure you keep your head above water. Or you could be in for more than a hangover.\r\nAIDS COUNCIL OF NSW","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Printed"}],"objectHistory":"This shirt was created as part of an ACON campaign organised by the AIDS Council of NSW (New South Wales) in January 1990. It was part of a large collection of T-shirts collected by Richard L. Velleman who died in either 1994 or 1995, which included several shirts with LGBTQ+ and safe-sex themes, including rare London Pride shirts from 1985, alongside band shirts from Velleman's favourite rock and punk bands, others depicting skateboarding, surfing, and partying; and random amusing or funny shirts.\n\nWe do not know who Richard Velleman was or anything about him beyond that he collected and wore these shirts, many of which show clear signs of having formed part of an actively and enthusiastically worn wardrobe; and that the collection of shirts was donated to us in his memory. The choice of T-shirts is often deeply personal and subject to the wearer's individual taste, acting as a wearable billboard for their beliefs, tastes and other opinions.\n\n- Daniel Milford-Cottam, 07/05/2025","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Printed cotton T-shirt, AIDS Council of NSW, Australia, 1990","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"cocktail","id":"AAT43234"},{"text":"gay","id":"THES266884"},{"text":"AIDS","id":"x36197"},{"text":"safe sex","id":"THES266898"},{"text":"homosexuality","id":"AAT55188"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.637-1997"],"accessionNumberNum":"637","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1997,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":["2024NR8836"],"recordModificationDate":"2026-05-11","recordCreationDate":"2009-06-24","availableToBook":true}}