The trained sculptor and anthropologist Wangechi Mutu (*1972 in Nairobi), selected by the Deutsche Bank as their Artist of the Year 2010, is one of the most distinguished contemporary artists today. In her collages and installations, she works with images from mass media and the sciences. She takes these from very different sources, such as ethnographic photography; fashion, sports, and sex magazines; or popular-science publications such as National Geographic. The principal motif of her work is the mutated, deformed, or mutilated female body, which has become a kind of venue for issues surrounding black female identity amid the tensions of Western consumer culture, the African diaspora, and postcolonial history. Mutu’s oeuvre captivates the viewer through its unique combination of surreal poetry, social critique, horror, and beauty. Exhibition schedule: Deutsche Guggenheim, Berlin, April 30–June 13, 2010