British sculptor Stephen Cox  grew up on a staple of Indian tales, smatterings of Hindi and Marathi, Kipling and Indian curry cooked by his father who was stationed with the Royal Navy in Bombay. Art too was a way of life. “As a child having skill in art and imaginative and inspirational teachers my career path was set early. My discovery of Indian art and sculpture in particular was a seed planted during this time, especially through the Phaidon book on Indian art,” recalls Cox.

Cox's long standing fascination for Indian art has resulted in an installation in Broadgate Plaza in the City of London.   “Ganpathi and Devi”, as the sculpture of two Hindu deities is called, salutes the concept of strength and joy in one part and mother and sensuousness in the other.

What makes the two- part sculpture even more remarkable is that the granite was extracted from the quarries of Mahabalipuram in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.” Procuring stone from the local granite quarries around Kanchipuram was one of the most exciting and difficult experiences. The stone in the earth in its raw form being born as gigantic blocks, black and shimmering with life, exposed to the light for the first time since the creation itself was an inspiration. I wanted to capture this,” says Cox.

Cox's signature sculptures are made from indigenous materials such as alabaster, marble and porphyry. For instance, Imperial Porphyry has gone into sculptures he made in Egypt. An important sculpture he made in Egypt has recently been shown Sotheby's at Chatsworth House in their 10th anniversary exhibition of sculpture, “Beyond Limits”.  He was also invited by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office to do a sculpture for the new Cairo Opera House. “I was given special access to the Roman quarries where nearly 2,000 years ago Imperial Porphyry was quarried for the exclusive use of the Roman emperors,” says Cox, whose two sculptures are among the first works to be made from the Imperial Quarries since antiquity.