Wangechi Mutu

Born in Kenya and now based in Brooklyn, New York, Wangechi Mutu is celebrated for her figurative work across a range of media. She reimagines representations of womanhood, confronting the racist and misogynistic foundations of dominant cultural narratives. Through her collages, sculptures, videos, and performances, she presents the female figure as a powerful, multifaceted archetype.

This work belongs to Mutu’s series of Earth sculptures, in which she uses natural materials such as red Kenyan soil and paper pulp to construct figures marked by a ridged network of stem-like veins. In Mirror Faced I, these veins lead to a bulbous, superhuman head — challenging notions of deficiency and impoverishment that often shape interpretations of her home continent. Mutu’s practice is a celebration of African history, mythology, and the deep relationship between humanity and the natural world.