Wangechi Mutu
[Art]
Roslyn Bernstein for Guernica: “Mutu refuses to give in to the mythology of woman as the seductress in the Garden of Eden. In her version of biblical history, the woman in the collage decapitates the snake by spiking him with her stiletto.”
As we prepare for the closing of A Fantastic Journey in our home city of Brooklyn, we’ve also embarked on a series of new adventures and endeavors.
We are happy to announce today’s launch of the new wangechimutu.com. Feel free to dive into our behind-the-scenes view of Wangechi’s studio and world, which includes rarely seen images of work spanning two decades, clips of each of her films, an interactive book shelf, and more.
The studio team has loved having A Fantastic Journey so close to home at The Brooklyn Museum. Wangechi was able to bring the show to life with two filmed, in-gallery interviews for artnet and Okayafrica, and also gave an incredibly powerful artist’s talk in the museum with Nora Chipaumire and Adrienne Edwards. Additionally, she has taken this opportunity to introduce new and interesting audiences to her work, through exhibition tours with The Andy Warhol Foundation, the Ali Forney Center, Black Girls Rock!, and Artpace.
Before we say goodbye to A Fantastic Journey as it travels to its new home at the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami, we are very excited for the closing celebrations of the show in Brooklyn. We hope that you will join us this Thursday, February 20th from 6:30-9:30pm for the Brooklyn Museum’s inaugural “Off the Wall” series. The event will explore Afrofuturism and celebrate Wangechi’s show through a multimedia performance by Daví, an interactive art event with Saya Woolfalk, a curator talk with Saisha Grayson, and an ongoing soundtrack by DJ Mursi Layne. We are also looking forward to closing out the last week of the show with the March 1st “Brooklyn Museum First Saturday: HERSTORY,” during which Venus X will spin an original mix, inspired by Wangechi’s work, from 9-10pm.
Though we’re fervently representing in our borough of Brooklyn, Wangechi’s span across New York is city-wide: be sure to catch her 2010 film, Shoe Shoe, on view in Metro Pictures’ Bad Conscience exhibition, which is up through February 22nd. We will also see you at 6:30pm on February 25th for a screening of Afropunk’s The Triptych at the Fashion Institute of Technology, followed by a conversation between Wangechi and Michaela Angela Davis; and finally don’t miss Wangechi’s next public lecture at the International Center of Photography on March 12th!
Currently on view at the Brooklyn Museum, The End of eating Everything has garnered a new, Midwestern audience after its week-long screening at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. Following its premiere in A Fantastic Journey, the exhibition for which the film was commissioned, The End of eating Everything was selected to continue its voyage in the New Frontiers category of Sundance. Wangechi had a blast enjoying the fresh mountain air and participating in several post-screening panels with Thomas Allen Harris, whose film, Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People, was screened in tandem with Wangechi’s. We had a great time hanging in Utah with our fellow New York transplants who also had films in the festival – Barron Claiborne, Renee Cox, Kambui Olujimi, Hank Willis Thomas, Deb Willis, and Jacolby Satterwhite, whose 5-hour long performance piece truly invigorated his video installation, also a part of New Frontiers.
Up next, The End of eating Everything will be screened in the CinemAfrica Film Festival at Stockholm’s Museum of Modern Art on March 20th, during which Wangechi will speak on a panel with fellow filmmakers, Zina Saro-Wiwa and Frances Bodomo. Wangechi’s Euro-tour will also take her to the Frankfurt Museum für Moderne Kunst, where she will lecture as part of the programming for the group show, Divine Comedy. Organized by Simon Njami, Divine Comedy will feature Wangechi’s sculptural installation work, Metha (2010). Wangechi and her family then plan to attend the opening celebration of Haute Africa: The Belgium Festival of Photography, which includes Wangechi’s newest installation piece. After returning to her Brooklyn studios to continue the creation of a new series of collages for her upcoming show at Victoria Miro Gallery, Wangechi will jet set again in May – this time to attend the opening of the Dak’Art Biennial in Dakar, Senegal, and to participate in a printmaking residency at Edition Copenhagen.
We are also proud to announce Wangechi’s collaboration with the BORNFREE campaign, whose goal is to eradicate the transmission of the HIV virus from mother to baby by the end of 2015 . Wangechi became involved with this cause when she was invited to design two textile patterns, which are being utilized by 23 unique, women designers, including Stella McCartney, Miuccia Prada, Diane von Furstenberg and more. With the help of Anna Wintour and Vogue Magazine, each designer is in the process of creating a line of mother and baby clothing, the proceeds of which will benefit the organization. Look out for the Mother’s Day 2014 launch.
Copyright © 2014 Wangechi Mutu Studio, All rights reserved.
Our mailing address is: Wangechi Mutu Studio, 849 Lafayette Ave.
Brooklyn, NY 11221
