Wangechi Mutu - Contemporary Artists

Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus

Wangechi Mutu, Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus      The Saatchi Gallery
 

Wangechi Mutu

Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus

2004, Glitter, ink, collage on found extremely fragile medical illustration paper

46 x 31cm

Wangechi Mutu trained as both a sculptor and anthropologist. Complete Prolapsus of the Uterus illustrates the marriage of these interests. Through collage, Mutu capitalised on the two-sided nature of her materials, conveying both the content and physicality of their sources. In using old medical diagrams, her collages carry the authenticity of artefact, as well as an appointed cultural value. In Complete Prolapsusof the Uterus Mutu contrives a racial hybrid: a puckered, prudish white face masks an ancient tribal wisdom. Mutu examines how ideology is implicitly tied to corporeal form. She cites a European preference of physique, inflicted on and adapted by Africans, resulting in hierarchical difference and genocide.

 
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