A new artwork by Jenny Holzer has been released today (July 29) – also the prolific American word artist’s 70th birthday – in collaboration with the New York City Aids Memorial and the online art community Avant Arte.
The 25-edition piece, titled URGE AND URGE AND URGE, is made up of condoms in a handblown, recycled glass jar.
The condoms’ wrappers bear some of the short, powerful messages used throughout Holzer’s work – e.g. “PROTECT ME FROM WHAT I WANT”, “EXPIRING FOR LOVE IS BEAUTIFUL BUT STUPID”, and “MEN DON’T PROTECT YOU ANYMORE” – alongside snippets from the seminal Walt Whitman poem “Song of Myself”.
A majority of proceeds from URGE AND URGE AND URGE, which is already sold-out via Avant Arte’s website, will benefit the NYC Aids Memorial. The memorial itself – which is located in Greenwich Village, Manhattan – features passages of “Song of Myself” selected by Holzer for a permanent installation.
Holzer also collaborated with the NYC Aids Memorial on the 2018 art project Light The Fight, which featured an interactive installation at the site followed by an appearance of her signature fleet of black trucks carrying LED signs. (A similar truck appears as part of the launch for URGE AND URGE AND URGE.)
View more images of the new artwork in the gallery above.