Special Ring...

I recently saw a news article about a comment that Christian TV evangelist, Pat Robertson, made about how gay people purposefully infect others with HIV with "special rings".   At first I was outraged by the narrow-minded generalizations that perpetuate hateful misconceptions and community divisions.  Once the comment was leaked (apparently it had been edited from the public broadcast), Robertson clarified his original statement by saying that a security detail in San Francisco warned him against shaking hands in the crowd to avoid the possibility of coming in contact with potential extremists.  The threat was that these activists would attempt a slow assassination by infecting the TV personality with the virus.

At one point in my career as an artist, I used my art to make social commentary about sexuality and psychospirituality.  As I transitioned more into jewelry, I gave up my soap box (for the most part) and focused primarily on creating objects of beauty.

When I heard about the "special rings" I decided to make a tongue-in-cheek interpretation that would thumb my nose at the fear mongering and homophobia.  The ring and setting are made from annealed copper.  I took a electron microscopic image of the virus and altered it with vibrant reds.  I glued it under a magnifying, pebble-like glass dome and set it in the bezel.  I wanted it to look slightly over the top and a little bit menacing.

Disclaimer:  I just wanted to make a note that this isn't a functioning viral deployment ring... nor do I have HIV.