Columbus Alabastron for Worms continues my exploration of Cypriot antiquities and their global displacement, specifically focusing on the looting orchestrated by Luigi Palma di Cesnola in the 19th century. Cesnola’s systematic excavation and removal of artifacts from Cyprus led to the widespread dispersal of these objects into major institutions such as The Metropolitan Museum of Art, stripping them of their original context and reshaping their historical narratives.

This alabastron—traditionally a small vessel used in ancient times for oils and perfumes—is reimagined in vivid pink, disrupting expectations of classical antiquity and asserting itself as both a contemporary artifact and a critique of historical collection practices. The worms that encircle its surface reference ancient depictions of snakes, symbols of transformation, protection, and the underworld. These serpentine forms, often seen in Cypriot and Mediterranean art, blur the lines between decay and rebirth, consumption and preservation.

By reinterpreting these motifs, Columbus Alabastron for Worms I ask the viewer to consider the ongoing life cycle of artifacts—how they are unearthed, displaced, and recontextualized. It reflects on the entanglement of history and identity, questioning what is lost and what is rewritten when cultural objects are severed from their origins.