Tammy Marinuzzi | Florida based artist

Terra Cotta, low fired slips; glazes, fired to cone 05

approx. 10.5" x 10.5"

Inspired by the ancient figure of Artemis of Ephesus, traditionally depicted with
numerous breasts and associated with fertility and abundance, The Death of Fertility
considers the complicated relationship between women, reproduction, and identity.

The figure is covered with breasts, but instead of celebrating fertility, she looks upward
toward a single pomegranate perched on top of her head. The pomegranate carries its
own history of fertility, sexuality, life, death, and regeneration.

The work asks what remains when fertility is no longer the defining characteristic of a
woman’s body. What happens when the body that has been celebrated, expected, or
valued for its reproductive potential can no longer—or chooses not to—produce?

Rather than treating fertility as an unquestioned symbol of womanhood, The Death of
Fertility considers the pressure placed on women to reproduce and the complicated
emotions surrounding aging, infertility, choice, and the loss of fertility.

In Fired Up, the work becomes another way of asking who gets to define the meaning
and value of a woman’s body.