By Rick Winterson

     Medicine Wheel Productions was founded by Michael Dowling.  Its origins go back to the epidemic of suicides in South Boston in ’96-‘97.  From its efforts, the “greening” of No Man’s Land between the high school and the monument resulted.  Dowling and Medicine Wheel volunteers have also assembled the stunning installations, which have been an integral part of the World AIDS Day vigils and retreats at the Cyclorama.

     Last Wednesday at midnight, December 1, a procession filed silently into the Cyclorama, led by black-clad Medicine Wheel volunteers.  Each member of the procession took a position around the perimeter of the Cyclorama.  A dance ensued.  Each dancer fell to the floor (“… all fall down…”), then rose up in white and slowly filed off.  The 2005 World AIDS Day vigil and retreat had begun.

     This year, Dowling’s installation was based on the Greek element “air”.  Huge blackboards, which had been covered with millions of hash marks last year – each mark representing a victim of AIDS – formed the installation entrance.  Blackbirds folded in origami style covered the floor.  Harsh cawing crow cries filled the air.  In the center of the Cyclorama was a silvery “Tree of Life”, surrounded by a vast circle of black feathers.  The effect, although surreal and abstract, starkly conveyed the tragic immensity of AIDS, the world’s modern-day plague.

     Each hour on the o’clock, an offering was performed.  Twenty-four songs, chants, dances, readings, instrumentals, and blessings marked the passing of the night, the day, and the evening of December 1.  Many guests stayed within the Cyclorama for the entire 24-hour vigil.

     After a memorial service for a young man who was killed over Thanksgiving weekend, a communal meal was served during the evening of December 1.  A final closing ritual conducted by Michael Brown closed out the 2005 World AIDS Day vigil and retreat.