Wangechi Mutu

Visual artist

Wangechi Mutu investigates what it means to represent ourselves, seeking to understand the human inclination to remake and redefine who we are.

Why you should listen

In expansive work that incorporates painting, sculpture, collage, film, installation and performance art, Wangechi Mutu centers on the creation of hybrid creatures that explore themes of power, culture, femininity, colonial history and global consumption. Her art is often made of multiple materials, creating fantastical forms that evoke Afrofuturism and interspecies connections.

Born in Nairobi, Kenya, Mutu has held various acclaimed museum and gallery shows around the world, exhibiting in cities including London, Hong Kong, Venice and Brussels. For her exhibition The NewOnes, will free Us, she installed four iconic bronze sculptures in front of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. A solo show of new work opened at the New Museum in New York in March, 2023.

Wangechi Mutu’s TED talk

11:22

Wangechi Mutu

The timeless, ancient language of art

Posted May 2023

More news and ideas from Wangechi Mutu

Live from TED2023

Off with a bang: Notes on Session 1 of TED2023

April 18, 2023

It’s time for TED! In an eclectic and interdisciplinary opening session, artists, scientists, activists, entrepreneurs and more explored the breadth of transformative possibilities that lie ahead of us, from understanding animal communication to breakthroughs in artificial intelligence to the theory of the “adjacent possible.” The event: Talks from Session 1 of TED2023: Possibility, hosted by […]