Wangechi Mutu's provocative works oscillate between beauty and horror, and the edition the Kenyan-born, New York-based artist created to accompany her one-person exhibition at the Deutsche Guggenheim does the same. The piece is based on her collage The Bride Who Married a Camel's Head (2009), which depicts a girlish figure, surrounded by butterflies, exotic plants, dried leaves, and animal skulls in a surreal grassy landscape. As she kneels on the ground, blood spurts between the teeth of her bony lower jaw, which she holds high in defiance, while her Medusa-like hair winds around her opulent flowery headdress, which is held in place by a lavish pearl earring. This mixture between grace and abjectness is characteristic of Mutu's works, which question black female identity as it is caught between Western consumerist culture, fashion, African politics, and postcolonial history. For her Deutsche Guggenheim edition, Mutu turned The Bride Who Married a Camel's Head into a three-dimensional puzzle. The relieflike assemblage is made of Corian, a valuable mineral-based material whose surface imitates the texture of the original collage. The highlight is a central puzzle piece: the figure's earring can be removed and worn on a matching chain. 100 signed and limited editions + 10 A.P.
- Author: Wangechi Mutu
- Titel: The Bride Who Married a Camel's Head, 2010
- Detail:
- Digital print on black Corian
- 80 pieces
- 60 x 45,5 x 0,6 cm
- wooden slipcase with a cladded reprint of the original collage
- Manufacturer/Supplier: Deutsche Guggenheim
Unter den Linden 13-15
DE-10117 Berlin
1997-2012
palais.populaire@db.com
- NO: : 1216100645