Where to start. I was born 21/11/57 in Duisburg Germany, and remained an only child. My parents and I emmigrated to Canada in 1961, and I was raised on a farm in the wilds of Alberta, Canada. Not to bore you with endless trivia, I farmed most of my life until 2000, when, no longer making any money at it, I moved to Calgary and took a job in the oil indsutry on a dare. It has worked out economicly very well.

I have been living with HIV/AIDS since 1986. The how or why is unimportant as the end result is the same no matter the source or moral implications. I have watched 83 of my freinds die of this, wonderul men all, and shunned by society to the last one. I have come to realize how precious Life is. I have learned through my art to express the inner demons that haunt me. It is the only way in my personal life that I have to reach out and allow others ot see a small portion of who I am.

I am not here to make any social or moral statement. I am here to share a part of me that eveyone can relate to. Art needs no words, no explaination, only the willingness to be reseptive, to receive with tolerance and respond with dignity and respect.

I hope that the rest of you try and be a bit kinder, a lot more forgiving and much more tolerant of those around you. I see anger, hatred and impatience all around me, and all for no reason.

My hope is that the common lanuage of art will help us all realize just how similar we all truely are. Josef Berg aka Alpha Invictus/bergjos 06-06-07