BAUBO UNEARTHED: A Trove of Mystery, Laughter in the Face of Grief, A Conjuring
BAUBO UNEARTHED:
A Trove of Mystery
Laughter in the Face of Grief
A Conjuring
February 28–April 11, 2025
Opening Reception: February 28, 6:00–9:00pm
Co-Prosperity presents BAUBO UNEARTHED, a celebration of joyful resistance in the face of despair and oppression. The exhibition is a tribute to the ancient figure Baubo, whose bawdy humor served as a catalyst for transformation, breaking the grief of the goddess Demeter and restoring the cycles of life, as held in the lore of the Eleusinian Mysteries.
Curated by Stephany Colunga, BAUBO UNEARTHED is presented as a museum-like display of mythic and historical narratives and artifacts alongside a contemporary art showcase. It features a diverse group of inter/national artists united by the spirit of Baubo, directly and by way of embodiment. Through sculpture, painting, performance, jewelry, video, and sound installation, the works (re)introduce this elusive figure, aiming to transmute collective grief, foster radical empathy, and ignite defiance through laughter.
Baubo emerges as a symbol of unapologetic apotropaic joy, feminine rage, queer love, and the power of vulnerability, urging viewers to dismantle despair, engage with their suffering, and envision nourishing, interconnected futures. The exhibition emphasizes reclaiming agency and rekindling curiosity, wonder, and hope as acts of rebellion against oppressive systems.
BAUBO UNEARTHED, Stephany Colunga’s curatorial debut, showcases work from around the world, gathering together artists in various stages of their lives and careers. This is a culmination of years of self-supported research—including a trip to the sanctuary of Demeter in Priene in southern Turkey where the Baubo votives were discovered, along with a visit to the Altes Museum in Berlin where the figurines reside. Colunga’s own contributions to the show include metal-work, ceramics, video, and installation, an evolution and unfolding of the sensitive, intuitive work she is known for.
A special evening of performances will take place on the Spring equinox, March 21st, from 7:00 to 10:00pm. These performances tie the exhibition to the Eleusinian Mysteries, which mark the return of Persephone from Hades and the renewal of life. This conjuring of spring will feature performances by Alicia McDaid (McDazzler), Karly Bergmann, Chicago band SHRIFT, and more.
Contributing artists:
Crackhead Barney
KS Brewer
Amanda Joy Calobrisi
Stephany Colunga
Baylen Levore
Yolanda McLellan
Alicia McDaid
Helen Welton
Celebrate the Spring Equinox on March 21 from 6:30–10:00PM at Co-Prosperity
As part of our current exhibition BAUBO UNEARTHED, we are hosting a special evening of performances on the Spring Equinox! These performances tie the exhibition to the Eleusinian Mysteries, which mark the return of Persephone from Hades and the renewal of life. This conjuring of Spring will feature performances by Alicia McDaid aka McDazzler (Philly/L.A.), Karly Bergmann (Mnpls), Bakantez, Shrift, and Xina Xurner (L.A.). Come be renewed and energized by the spirit of Baubo and the connecting ritual of laughter and dance.
Doors open at 6:30pm to view the exhibition, performances start at 7:30pm.
ABOUT THE PERFORMERS:
Xina Xurner is an experimental music/performance collaboration between Marvin Astorga and Young Joon Kwak, whose cathartic performances combine DIY and power electronics, mutated vocals, and bad drag to expand ideas about queer and trans bodies. Their music combines a variety of genres (including happy hardcore, industrial, drone metal, and techno-opera), in order to create sadical and sexperimental noise-diva-dance anthems that evoke a sense of death, decay, and transformation.
It has been over a decade since they returned to play in their old home of Chicago! A special treat. Xina Xurner will make you sweat!
McDazzler Alicia McDaid is a performance/video artist, painter, and actress whose work depicts a shattering of the self into infinite personas. She contracted 2 STDs when she lost her virginity in Trenton, New Jersey in 1990 and recently starred in the film Trash The Musical by Loretta Fahrenholz. This will be Alicia's debut performance in Chicago. She will be performing a mix of her characters. Stephany considers her to be a modern day Baubo in the flesh! Not to be missed!
Bakantez formed in 2022 as the solo electronic project of Hanna Elliott, former member of the proto-Industrial duo HOGG. The project's name plays off of the word Bacchantes, the female followers of Dionysus who inspired his ecstatic rites. Over the years of creative development, Hanna has retained consistent themes of libidinal physicality, tactility, and tumultuous introspection. Her project Bakantez sonically consists of electro-acoustic sampling, sequencing, synthesis, and processed vocals reminiscent of sound collage, minimal wave, and noise.
Shrift Uniting the smooth bass of toxic nerd Jill Lloyd Flanagan (Forced into Femininity, Cb Radio Gorgeous), the vocals of local funnyman Carly Wicks (Dog Problem), electrical saxophone by the large-mitted Sonia Monet (Nakamura Lock) and the punishing beats of museum replicator Janice Lim (Gula Gila) into a semi-coherent sound; Shrift is the band your mom would favorite on SoundCloud and add to her Mixcloud favorites. Whether you’re a creator, a disruptor, or just ruining the city for fun, get ready to nod your head vigorously to their up-tempo sound.
Karly Gesine Bergmann's one-person show, Baubo, is at the intersection of puppetry, mask, and clown. The performance channels sleepover energy and the kind of late-night silliness that comes with it, and invites the audience to participate in the ritual summoning of the goddess. If successful, everyone will leave with the goddess' protective blessing.
Karly Gesine Bergmann is a performer and maker who conducts experiments in the science of enchantment—often through puppetry, but always through handmade, object-based work. Her work often centers around endings, death, and what we choose to preserve. Also, camel toes. Her article "Babuo: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach to a Vagina Puppet" is published in Puppetry International, and her monthly newsletter, Pussy Clown, is on Substack. Her puppetry work has been seen on stages in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and Italy. She has toured nationally as a performer and puppeteer with the emmy-nominated Manual Cinema, was a recipient of the Edes Prize for Emerging Artists, and firmly believes that silliness is sacred.
