Wangechi Mutu. Yo Mama. 2003

Wangechi Mutu Yo Mama 2003

  • Not on view

Kenyan-born artist Wangechi Mutu's collage pays tribute to Funmilayo Anikulapo–Kuti, the mother of the famous Afrobeat musician Fela Kuti. A pioneering feminist who is said to have been the first woman to drive a car in Nigeria, she fought against the practice of female genital mutilation. Mutu explains why this diptych is both tantalizing and menacing: "The figure exists in an imaginary outer space, clutching a mangled serpent, the phallic and mythological creature that instigated the downfall of Eve. . . . The image and title are infested with the inherent contradictions that were the experience of a radical like Funmilayo. A visionary and brave fighter, she was caught in the upheaval of the creation of a nation's identity."

Gallery label from 2006.
Medium
Ink, mica flakes, acrylic, pressure-sensitive film, cut-and-pasted printed paper, and painted paper on paper
Dimensions
Overall: 59 1/8 x 85" (150.2 x 215.9 cm)
Credit
The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection Gift
Object number
2511.2005.a-b
Copyright
© 2021 Wangechi Mutu
Department
Drawings and Prints

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