A native of Kenya, Mutu mixes her cultural heritage with Western sources that range from high fashion and pornography to the past and present history of violence on the African continent. Her intricate drawings made on translucent Mylar inscribe postmodern horrors onto African identity. Despite their often maimed appearance, Mutu’s hybrid female figures are symbols of empowerment and aggression.

The massive relocations of populations on the African continent, its multilingualism, and the influence of the increasing globalizations of commerce and culture seem mirrored in Mutu’s complex, multilayered images. But rather than historicizing Africa and blackness as a race, Mutu is envisioning the existence of African elements in a future culture; accordingly her works are both traditional and utopian.