WANGECHI MUTU
OkayAfrica's 100 Women celebrates African women who are making waves, shattering ceilings, and uplifting their communities.
Multimedia artist Wangechi Mutu's creations take a mouthful of words to describe: it's whimsical, unsettling, confrontational, subtle, sensational, intuitive. When you step into her world, you are reminded that not all adults have lost touch of their imagination; Mutu still has a strong grip on hers. 2017 started off well for the artist and AFRICA'SOUT founder, did a solo exhibition at New York's Gladstone Gallery. "Ndoro Na Miti" (Mud and Trees) looks at the "relationship between human existence and the environment."
The lauded, Kenyan-born artist is known for her quirky, distinctive collages, sculptures and videos, including her movie: The End of eating Everything featuring Santigold. In her images, she explores gender, race, colonialism and the female body, in unexpected and forward ways, urging us to think more critically about social norms.
-AA