Fertility

A fertility symbol made of glazed clay balances precariously on a pedestal of pink plaster. Attached to the swollen abdomen is a trail of lead weights that curl into a circular coil. The sculpture references the many ancient effigies of fertility and motherhood. In particular the Venus figurines such as the Venus of Willendorf, that had exaggerated abdomens, hips and breasts but no hands or feet and if they had heads they were small and faceless. There are many interpretations of their use or meaning: 'They have been seen as religious figures, an expression of health and fertility, grandmother goddesses or as self-depictions by female artists.'