About the collection.

PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT, is a direct quote from an art piece that feminist Jenny Holzer made in 1979. Over the course of 1.5 years, I reflected on what I:

1. Want Protection from,

2. Desire, and

3. Which of these Desires I want Protection from.

I answered these questions through living. Through dating cis people, navigating my relationship to chronic pain, attempting sobriety, deepening a relationship to leather, and more, I searched for the answers to these prompts. And as I tried things - I wrote. First, from pencil to paper, and then stamped letter by letter into silver & brass. What resulted are phrases, words, and short poems that build to tell a story. A story of disappointment, lust, rejection, elation, illness, gay sex, and ultimately ~ self discovery.

If you see yourself in this collection, it is because you are there. My voice is not mine alone, it is led by transsexual menace’s that came before me, the dyke/fag feminists that make out & refuse to be held down, the T girls I crush on at the club, the family members that break my heart, the doctors that don’t believe me, and the drugs that keep us alive. I hope if you purchase a piece, you understand that you are a part of this story.

I’m so glad you’re here.

The structure of the collection.

The collection contains 36 necklaces. Each piece is sold individually. Each piece took 10+hours to make, is one of a kind, and will not be made again. The structure of the collection is as follows:

Chapter 1: Protection. (Protect me from what I want). Protect me from:

Cis People

Pain

The USA 

Chapter 2: Desire. (Ask me about the strength of my desire). My desire for:

Truth

Substance

Sadomasochism 

Chapter 3: Finalé. (I cannot contain it)

A note on the artist.

All pieces are designed, fabricated, and shipped by Will Darling. Will is a trans male artist and writer who makes work focused on challenging dominant power structures, and uplifting trans masculine perspectives.