Soul Rising, 2024
Quotes from Wangechi Mutu Dresses Cultural Critique in Freakishly Beautiful Disguises
1. "Other blankets attached to a wall serve as a screen for the projection of Cleaning Earth (2006), a video in which Mutu futilely scrubs a dirt floor. (The artist appears in all her own videos, as an everywoman.) Mutu is drawn to the blankets as a signifier of economic contrasts between the West, where they’re considered low-grade and often used for moving furniture, and Africa, where for many they serve the basic function of providing warmth."
2. "Mutu has begun work on a series of double-headed female images but their significance hasn’t been quite formulated: as with much of her work, the references can be multiple. Aside from her interest in the conjoined twins Abigail and Brittany Hensel, two girls who share and cooperatively control one body, she suspects that the new figures might have something to do with the status of immigrants, who lead hybrid existences and have to be many things at once."
Responses
1. Women are often expected to be stay-at-home moms when they grow up, and the constant scrubbing on the dirty floor shows not only perfectionism when taking care of the house but also becomes a coping mechanism for loneliness and stress due to boredom after jobs are done. This is also stacked up by the constant attention needed to raise kids, which would involve emotional burnout after dealing with them constantly.
2. I relate to the hybrid existence of having to be many things simultaneously. I'm going through that phase right now due to big dreams and not following through with them. I fantasize about them instead of lowering my standards due to my limitations. I'm not rich, and whatever I invest in should be done carefully to ensure success. I also relate to my ancestors' loss of cultural significance due to being born in America compared to my parents, who grew up in their own countries before immigrating to America for a better life.
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