Spectra CIC delivers supportive, knowledgeable and non-judgemental peer-based services to under-served communities. Spectra CIC started life in 1996 as the West London Gay Men’s Project, set up to prevent HIV transmission in local high-risk populations by delivering services in the community as well as contributing to the evidence-based research of the period. Since then Spectra CIC has broadened who they work with and the types of issues they support. Now they exist to support people of all sexualities, gender identities, cultural influences and ethnicities who want to make a positive change to their lives, with a focus on sexual health and emotional wellbeing.
It's A Love Thing
30 Years of LGBTQIA+ Health Advocacy
An exhibition of groundbreaking archival sexual healthcare posters alongside newly commissioned artworks in partnership with Spectra CIC, a London-based sexual health and wellbeing organisation.
It's A Love Thing provides an important visual history of London’s sexual health services and the key role collaboration between support organisations, artists and creatives has played in sustaining the sexual health landscape over the last thirty years.
This exhibition of posters from 1987 to 2015 includes photography by artists Sunil Gupta, Suzanne Roden, Parminder Sekhon and Photo Co-Op, amongst many others. Spectra CIC holds a collection of over 100 campaign posters that advocate for safer sexual health practices, active consent and pride in identity providing a glimpse into the history of their impactful work alongside partner organisations. Artists Jesse Glazzard and Pank Sethi have created two new campaign posters responding to the archive, in collaboration with Spectra CIC staff.
The exhibited posters invite visitors to “fuck safely, love safely”, “take pride in who you are”, “get set for safer sex” and “...care for our lovers, families, friends and ourselves”. They promote safer sex practices free from shame, spread awareness of vaccines and treatments for sexually transmitted infections, dispel harmful myths about HIV, tackle transphobic and homophobic hate crimes and amplify support services available for various community groups. Showing images of love across cultures, they are an important celebration of LGBTQIA+ relationships in their many forms.
Lamination, stapling, Velcro marks and creasing nod to the primary function of these healthcare posters which were taken to events, disseminated between partner organisations or, in some cases, still hang on the walls of Spectra CIC’s offices, where the organisation continues to offer sexual health, wellbeing and gender services.
The 1990s British LGBTQIA+ experience was defined, in part, by the emergence of campaigns and grassroots direct-action movements that were established to counter the inequality experienced by LGBTQIA+ Britons. Spectra CIC was founded in 1996 as the West London Gay Men’s Project to help prevent HIV transmission in local high-risk populations by delivering community services and contributing to evidence-based research. Spectra CIC, alongside Terrence Higgins Trust, METRO Charity, Big Up, Naz and North London Line Lesbian and Gay Youth Project, are amongst several LGBTQIA+ activist organisations and campaigners that advocate for the sexual, mental, physical and social well-being of LGBTQIA+ people living in London and across Britain.
It's A Love Thing is a small window into the sustained efforts of many trailblazing sexual health campaigners, activists and advocates over the last thirty years. The exhibition explores what it means to be in a community with one another and the vital conversations and knowledge sharing between LGBTQIA+ people living and loving across time.
Every effort has been made to contact and credit the relevant organisations and photographers behind the posters in this exhibition. If you were involved in any of the works on display, or have information you would like to share, please get in touch at participation@studiovoltaire.org.
This exhibition forms part of Tender Living, supported by Arts Council England and Paul Hamlyn Foundation.
Opening preview: Wednesday 4 June 2025, 6–9 pm. Free, all welcome.
Jesse Glazzard’s raw, authentic approach to photography is best defined as an intimate blend of portraiture and documentary. His portraits tell stories, told or unsaid. Stories of life, stories of love, stories of self, Glazzard captures fleeting moments and understands both the body and the mind as vehicles in perpetual change and motion. He documents spaces, mates, lovers, himself and models both in staged portraiture and spontaneous images. Glazzard studied at the University of Salford and Central Saint Martins.
Pank Sethi is an acclaimed photographer, storyteller, and social justice advocate whose work bridges art and activism. With career-spanning collaborations with A-list actors, fashion houses and musicians, his photography captures raw narratives that challenge perceptions and inspire change.
Beyond the lens, Sethi is a leading voice in education and advocacy, particularly in the realm of HIV and sexual health services within UK prisons. His dedication to social equity has seen him shape national healthcare standards, mentor underrepresented youth in film and media, and serve as a trustee for the literacy charity Shannon Trust. A former prisoner turned artist, Sethi’s journey is one of resilience and transformation. His work—both visual and social—embodies his unwavering determination to bring about change.
- A Fine Romance. Photograph Suzanne Roden. Copyright North London Line Lesbian and Gay Youth Project. Courtesy of Spectra CIC
- No catch. TVS, Health Education Council. Courtesy of Spectra CIC.
- Boys in Love, Asian Proud and Out. Photography Parminder Sekhon. Commissioned by Naz. Date Unknown. Courtesy of Spectra CIC.
- Take care of your family. Photographer Unknown. 1994. The Naz Project. Courtesy of Spectra CIC.