Red Shoes Vanitas by Cybele Cox, 2019

Transcript

This artwork is a sculpture titled Red Shoes Vanitas by Cybele Cox. It was made in 2019. It is 2.3 metres high by 55 centimetres wide and 55 centimetres deep. The entire sculpture is made of ceramic however some parts look as though they’re made of fabric. Most of the sculpture is a creamy white colour. This audio description will describe the sculpture from the front however it can be viewed from all angles. 

The sculpture is a tall statue, consisting of five sections. At the top of the sculpture, in the first section, is a human skull. It is resting on a bed of hair which cascades down on all sides of the sculpture. 

Below this, in section 2, the sculpture continues downward in a cylindrical shape. In this section, there are three horizontal levels of forms which look like bare breasts or testicles, as mentioned by the artist. The first level has one pair of breasts or testicles. The second level has approximately three pairs of breasts or testicles, while the third and final level consists of four pairs of breasts or testicles, which look as if they are getting squashed by the weight of the others on top of them. 

Underneath, the third section portrays a column similar to the design of a classic Grecian column with a decorative horizontal ring around the top. 

Wrapped around the column, there appears to be loosely hung fabric however it is sculpted ceramic. A skeletal figure extends from both sides of the sculpture like the handles of a trophy. 

Continuing down the sculpture, the fourth section appears to be baggy pants. Each pant leg appears like a melted traditional Grecian column. At the bottom of the pants or column forms, there are a pair of pointy shoes which stick out at the front. They are a bright red colour and the only coloured part of the entire sculpture. 

At the bottom of the sculpture, which is the fifth and last section, the red shoes are standing on a pedestal which looks like the bottom of a column. This pedestal is approximately 30 centimetres high. 

Cox’s practice explores representations of women in the Western art canon through motifs drawn from ancient feminine symbols and occult mysticism. For Cox, her works function as a means of entry into imagining a new version of events. They invite viewers to unstick and unstack themselves, and then rebuild piece by piece, in a call for a re-flowering of the spiritual, and ultimately, a new feminist order.  

Cybele Cox holds a Master of Fine Art from the Sydney College of Art and a Bachelor of Fine Art from University of New South Wales Art & Design. Her work has been part of curated exhibitions across Australia, including at Firstdraft, Artspace Sydney, Carriageworks, Ames Yavuz, Australian Centre of Contemporary Art, and the Australian Ceramics Triennale. Cox’s work is held at The Art Gallery of NSW as a finalist in the prestigious Wynne Prize, 2025.