Cybele Cox acquired by the Art Gallery of Ballarat

19 Apr 2024

Ames Yavuz is pleased to share that the Art Gallery of Ballarat has acquired ‘Three Legged Column’ by Cybele Cox.

‘Three Legged Column’ is a statuesque ceramic work by Cox, whose practice is predicated on fantasy, irreverence, and the revival of an ancient feminine order. The central figure depicts Baubo, a bawdy, vagrant goddess from Greek mythology whose eyes appear over her ovaries and whose mouth is formed by the pubis. Baubo is at the centre of a myth about the grief-stricken goddess Demeter mourning the abduction of her daughter Persephone. She breaks Demeter’s deep melancholy by lifting up her skirt in a gesture both joyful and lewd. Cox celebrates this story as a testament to the healing power of mirth and embraces the distinctly feminine power of Baubo.

Cox depicts the figure standing on the head of a man with his mouth agape, cheekily re-imagining gender hierarchies through the tropes of classical architecture. Cox presents her as a hopeful symbol of a renewed mythology and as a herald for a future Goddess-worshipping utopia.

Artwork: Cybele Cox, Three Legged Column’, 2015, glazed ceramic, gold lustre, 153 x 50 x 50 cm