“He
asked me how you float all sharp and always have a fresh one/ And seem to know
the answers to the most proverbial questions/ I told him Wangechi swirled it in
a book of sketches/ I find the diamonds underneath the subtlest inflections”
-Shabazz Palaces, “Are You… Can You… Were You (Felt)?”[1].
I was first introduced to
Mutu’s artwork when I listened to the Shabazz Palaces’ song, quoted above, “Are
You… Can You… Were You (Felt)?”. Shabazz Palaces’ is a hip/hop group based in
Seattle. They experiment with electronic beats, jazz, and traditional African
music to create a unique and colourful listening experience. Shabazz Palaces
and Wangechi Mutu pair well together, and I hope they collaborate at some point.
In Untitled, Mutu uses “mixed media
collage and painting on vellum”[2] to create a beautiful, yet
violent, piece of art. Here, I will give a very interpretative account of my
experience while beholding this fascinating piece of art.
Untitled
appears to be a portrait. Perhaps it is a self-portrait of Mutu herself, but
one can only speculate. At first glance, I was immediately struck by the
intensity of this piece. Here, a woman is giving birth to a winged creature
resembling a butterfly. Ironically, the woman appears to be in the fetal
position while actually giving birth. There is something rather pornographic about
the woman, especially her legs, and high heels. Her nakedness is astounding,
and terribly revealing. I find it interesting how the majority of the woman’s
body contrasts with her arm and the legs. The arm and the legs are the most
familiar in terms of their realistic appearance. The main body, however,
contains different elements, including the vehicular-like portions of the neck
and the pubic region. These vehicular regions perhaps symbolize how Mutu feels
about sexuality, and the functions of the neck in speaking, breathing,
drinking, and eating. All of these functions are vital for life, yet they are
also almost mechanical in the ways that they are exhibited in the piece. The
grey and brown colour schemes of the body could also be figurative, perhaps
they reflect the way in which Mutu imagines the body to be on the inside; a
chaotic swirly mess of organs and other corporeal qualities.
The
birth itself is an astonishing event. The blood, coloured in a darkish red,
bursts from the body, and releases a winged creature from the woman’s womb. The
winged creature appears to be some sort of insect from the Lepidoptera order.
It looks to be attached to an umbilical chord while attempting to fly away.
Here, the giving of life is a sensual, yet violent process. The significance of
this is fascinating. I am reminded of how the beauty of a birth is accompanied
by an awful amount of suffering. Of course, I will never experience this for
myself, and I could never imagine what it would actually be like, but it
appears to be a painful experience. Indeed, the face of the woman reflects the
agony of birth. It is interesting to observe what appears to be emanating from
the woman’s head. I am not entirely sure what it is, but it looks very
naturalistic, like a plant, or a root, or some sort of oceanic creature. While
looking at this strange thing attaching to the woman’s head, I notice her hair,
which is similar to the familiar tones of the arm and the leg, all of which I
think are the most realistic aspects of the piece, in contrast to the other
surreal textures. The background is coloured in shades of grey, emitting a
spectral vibe. Indeed, with life, there is always a sense of death. In order
for there to be life, death is always something that plays a central part, and
in this piece, this sentiment is reflected by the ghostly surroundings of the
woman, as she bears the child in a fetal position. For the woman, the act of
giving life is a symbolic death. It is in the act of letting go of life, that
there is the possibility for renewal, and for new life. Perhaps this is what is
meant by Shabazz Palaces’ lyrics explaining how the answers “to the most
proverbial questions” can be elicited from Wangechi Mutu’s “book of sketches”.
[1] “Are You… Can You…
Were You You? (Felt),” genius.com,
last accessed March 4, 2016, http://genius.com/Shabazz-palaces-are-you-can-you-were-you-felt-lyrics.
[2] “Wangechi Mutu:
Wangechi Mutu Exhibited At The Saatchi Gallery,” saatchigallery.com, last accessed March 4 2016, http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/wangechi_mutu.htm.
Works
Cited
“Are
You… Can You… Were You You? (Felt).” genius.com.
Last accessed March 4, 2016.http://genius.com/Shabazz-palaces-are-you-can-you-were-you-felt-lyrics.
“Wangechi
Mutu: Wangechi Mutu Exhibited At The Saatchi Gallery.” saatchigallery.com. Lastaccessed March 4 2016. http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/wangechi_mutu.htm.
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