Eat Cake

2012

Like much of Wangechi Mutu’s multidisciplinary work, Eat Cake focuses on a female protagonist. A mysterious woman (played by Mutu) with unkempt hair, clawlike nails, and translucent platform heels messily devours, and then destroys, a chocolate cake. The woman’s sumptuous clothing and voracious appetite invite reflection on humankind’s separation from the natural world and patterns of excessive consumption. Her ritualistic movements suggest an attempt to reconnect with both the earthly and spirit realms of the forest around her (in actuality, nearby Prospect Park).