Wangechi Mutu: The Cinderella Curse

2007, Celina Jeffery, SCAD Publishing, USA.

Abstract

Wangechi Mutu’s solo exhibition debut at the ACA Gallery of the Savannah College of Art and Design marks a return for the artist to the themes of consumption and excess, the grotesque and the beautiful, as they play out in the neglect and suffering imposed on the mythical character of Cinderella. In a parody of the well-known fairytale, The Cinderella Curse explores the inhumane conditions that often accompany women’s labour. This site-specific installation consists primarily of a series of paper collages, for which the artist is best known, that extend onto the walls of the gallery, endless stacks of clothing, and a video of Mutu herself perpetually cleaning earth.