“Mystery as Possibility: Wangechi Mutu’s Bronzes, The Seated”
Wangechi Mutu’s seven foot tall seated bronze sculptures, the Seated I-IV, were commissioned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to sit in the building’s previously vacant Rodin façade alcoves as part of the NewOnes will Free Us. These sculptures are cosmic, divine, African, and feminine. They riff on the Classical image of the architecturally load-bearing female pillars called caryatids and Afrofuturist creative projections to metabolise the past into new futures. The sculptures were made, not to hold the weight of the institution, but to guide it forward. The cosmic, sci-fi, Afrofuturist, and divine facets of these sculptures, as well as their material presence, generate a sense of scale that helps to conceptualise humanity’s interdependence and impacts, making reflection possible.
These works were positioned in the MMA’s façade through the pandemic where they sat as guardians of and guidance toward connectivity and hope. Now, their messages continue to be salient and their leadership much needed. These works are part of an ever-expanding awareness of interdependence, between people, communities, states, industries and environments. Revisiting these sculptures is a timely reminder of how art can make worlds, not just reflect them. It is as important now as it was when the sculptures were displayed through the pandemic to be reminded that new realities can come through mysteries and creative imaginaries.
meg doughty 