Memory Stones
Aids Memorial Grove International Design Competition
Finalist
2005
The AIDS pandemic has reached global proportions: 20 million people have died of AIDS since 1981 and as of 2004, the number of people living with AIDS has reached 40 million. Four people contract the virus every minute, half of which are under the age of 25. For those whose lives have been directly or indirectly affected by this tragic disease, the National AIDS Memorial Grove is a sacred place for both gathering and individual reflection. As a living memorial, the dialogue between visitors and the ever changing landscape is integral to the process of healing; remembrance of those who have been lost and hope for those who continue to struggle and await a cure.
The new memorial proposed for the grove is one which will develop over time, just as our understanding and hope must grow over time. The initial form of the memorial indicates both the immense proportions and the individual toll of this disease. To honor the different experiences of visitors to the grove, subsequent site specific installations will be built in collaboration between designers, artists, visitors and the community. 
Based on the idea that people should be an integral part of a living memorial, river stones have been chosen as the primary building material for the memorial. Each stone, graspable by an individual, is infused with power of reflection. Whether capturing a moment of hope, healing or remembrance, each stone carries the intention of the human spirit to understand and overcome this disease which continues to devastate tens of millions of lives all around the world. Initially, the memorial will consist of a massive collection of river stones, much like those already found in the Grove’s dry creeks. Placed at the east end of the Meadow and reaching a height of 20 feet, this mound symbolizes the overwhelming number of people who have died or are living with AIDS. Slowly this mound will change its shape and size as memorials are constructed, illustrating the fight against this disease and the search for a cure. Each memorial installation will be built from these smooth stones; either formally as yearly projects embedded in one of the 17 areas of the Grove; or informally, as personal tributes, such as the cairns which are currently balanced on boulders in the Redwood Grove.
Initial mound of river stones.
Two ideas for site specific installations.
Through this process of deconstruction and construction, visitors truly become a part of this living memorial. The grove will not only change with the seasons and passing years, but because of the will and spirit of those who chose to grasp a stone and contribute their time, energy and thoughts. These stones join memory to tangible evidence of action in honor of all those who have been affected by AIDS.
Initial mound location, possible sequence of installations and possible final configuration of memorials. The mound decreases in size over time. A ring of stones mark where the mound once was.
For more information on Aids memorials, the Grove and its history and the subsequent debate and discussion around the competition, see Jacob Cascio’s article and the 2011 documentary The Grove..