Wangechi Mutu: The SeasSpirit at Victoria Miro, Venice
July 18 – August 29, 2026
Images courtesy of Wangechi Mutu and Victoria Miro Gallery
Venice has it all; it sits between land and water, where historical myths blend as buildings decay and show the constant battle with the Venetian Lagoon. For this show, Wangechi Mutu digs into the land’s ecology, biology, and mixed folklore.
Mutu’s liquid inspiration treats water as more than a painting subject, bringing it into the land’s fragile ecosystem and spiritual backbone. In these collage-paintings, she revives god-like creatures that linger between the ocean and the creative corners of the visual mind. Their shapes are mystical and strange, to say the least, with organic, loose poses that give the creatures character. These artworks show Mutu’s eco-feminist and African influence as she adds her own layer of mythology deeply rooted in her culture to the visual conversation.
Meanwhile, she is also part of the 61st Venice Biennale “Minor Keys” curated by the late Kyoko Kouoh. Her Bronze SimbiSiren controls and commands the outdoor hall. It fuses human, animal, and otherworldly anatomy, drawing on the Kongo spirit Simbi, a freshwater deity that combines the physical world with the ancestral realm.
