#You were always on my mind series#

This work was made in 2007 in Brooklyn, New York, by the Kenyan artist Wangechi Mutu. The face of this upper head also incorporates paper cut-outs, including images of a fish, a section of orange coral and yellow flowers. The neck and large parts of the upper head are characterised by a moss-like surface of green, yellow and gold that is composed of acrylic paint, crystalline particles and glitter. Protruding from the back of the lower head are thin strips of self-adhesive plastic featuring a wood-effect pattern that have been cut into twig shapes.

#You were always on my mind series#

The figure’s neck is coated with red, green and gold glitter that is mixed together with an unevenly scattered series of small plastic beads of different sizes, while its arm (composed of plant and crustacean imagery) and hand (which reaches up to touch the chin) consist of further paper cut-outs. Several cut-out images on paper appear within this head, including a deep blue eye, a man dressed in Middle Eastern clothing and an animal skeleton. The lower and larger of the heads is mainly composed of pink and grey paint with the mottled colours running into one other to form a marbling effect. Both heads are shown in profile from their right side, with their distinct outlines carefully drawn with ink and water. The cloudy background is composed of a fine layer of white, black and grey acrylic paint that has been applied as a spray mist, with the outer edges much thicker and darker so that the central composition seems surrounded by light.

Mounted onto a solid support, the painting is created on a thick sheet of tough, clear polyester film known as Melinex, the edges of which have been cut in gently undulating lines. You were always on my mind 2007 is a large portrait-orientated painting with collage elements that depicts two heads, one positioned on the top of the other.