An artist who was shocked when he was diagnosed as being HIV-positive has created a dildo covered in pins and glass.

The artist, Paul Chisholm, said the work was his own way of damning the man who infected him with the virus during gay s*x. The sculpture has been dubbed the ‘world’s most painful s*x toy,’ and it was named Viral Load.

Created in 2010, Viral Load is made of rubber and glass-headed pins, and it is expected sell for over $3,000 at a charity auction. Thirty-three-year-old Paul discovered that he was HIV positive in 2007.



A member of the l£sb!an Gay Bisexual Transsexual, Paul narrates, “I went for an HIV test at the Mortimer Market Centre in central London, and when I went back a week later, they were all clear.

“I went off on holiday skiing in Switzerland with my then-boyfriend, and was really happy about the results.

“But half-way through the holiday, I got a call from the hospital asking me to go in because they had made a mistake with my results.

“I was in the middle of a mountain and found out I had HIV. It was quite shocking after being told I didn’t have it.

“I really didn’t know how to handle it, what to do or how to tell my boyfriend.”

Overwhelmed with shock, Paul made a call to the Terrence Higgins Trust, which he now says was a ‘lifeline.’

Paul said: “I felt like jumping off the mountain! I didn’t know where to turn or what to do; so I rang the Terrence Higgins Trust.

“The guy chatted to me for an hour-and-a-half and if it wasn’t for him explaining, telling me it was okay and giving me information about medication, I don’t know what I would have done.

“He really placated the shock, fear, and stigma, and allowed me to carry on – it was a lifeline.” Three years later, Paul created Viral Load.

He said: “The work is like a voodoo doll in a way, stabbing the guy who I contracted the virus from.”