SUBTERRANEA FALLING FLAMES

Part of Wangechi Mutu’s Subterranea series, Subterranea Falling flames delves into themes of spirituality, transformation, and the sacred renewal. A descending bird touches the head of a human figure, activating a luminous interior space where soul and breath seem to merge. Around them, flames fall like tears—symbols of both sorrow and purification. A coiled serpent evokes cycles of sin and renewal. Mutu draws on religious iconography—visions of light and sacrifice—but filters them through a new cosmology rooted in the earth, ancestral practices, and interspecies kinship. 

Subterranea Falling flames proposes a vision of transcendence not through separation from the material world, but through a deeper inhabitation of it. Spirit and matter, human and animal, body and landscape are not opposites here—they ignite each other, revealing a sacred geography where suffering and illumination are inseparable. 

 

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