Influenced by artists such as Hannah Hoch and Richard Hamilton, she made collages exploring how state violence shows up on people's bodies. As her work evolved, Mutu began to make collages out of ethnographic photography, 19th-century medical illustrations, and magazine pornography.25 Sept 2014
What media does Mutu use to create her artwork?
Painting
How does Wangechi Mutu make her art?
Wangechi Mutu uses collage as a means of both physically and conceptually bringing layered depth to her work. Using images cut from fashion magazines, National Geographic, and books about African art, Mutu pieces together figures which are both elegant and perverse.
What type of art does Wangechi Mutu make?
Contemporary art
Why is Wangechi Mutu's art important?
"Art allows you to imbue the truth with a sort of magic so it can infiltrate the psyches of more people, including those who don't believe the same things as you." Mutu's work crosses a variety of mediums, including collage, video, performance, and sculpture, and investigates themes of gender, race, and colonialism.
What are common themes in Wangechi Mutu's work?
Mutu's work crosses a variety of mediums, including collage, video, performance, and sculpture, and investigates themes of gender, race, and colonialism. Her work, in part, centers on the violence and misrepresentation experienced by Black women in contemporary society.
What materials does Wangechi Mutu use?
In addition, Mutu's visual language is further enriched by her use of unexpected materials such as tea, synthetic hair, Kenyan soil, feathers, and sand, amongst other media - many of which are imbued with their own cultural significations.