Documented artwork / monumental bronze sculpture, Nasher edition 1/3
MamaRay
Credit as documented: Wangechi Mutu
MamaRay is Wangechi Mutu’s monumental bronze combining human, manta-ray and imagined creature forms. The Nasher Museum at Duke University commissioned the work and identifies its example as edition 1 of 3, dated 2020. In a November 2021 announcement, the museum described its installation inside the Mary D.B.T. Semans Great Hall following a presentation at San Francisco’s Legion of Honor. The sculpture measures 15 feet in length with a 12-foot wingspan. Its low, expansive form was placed beneath the hall’s glass-and-steel roof, where the museum connected its presence to the surrounding landscape and sky. The commission developed over three years with funding provided by Joan Kahn. This record concerns the Nasher example and its documented history; it does not combine other casts, or imply the museum’s sculpture is available for placement elsewhere.
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At a glance
- Year / version
- 2020 (work date); Nasher installation reported November 2021
- Materials
- bronze
- Documented setting
- indoor
- Dimensions
- 15 feet long; 12-foot wingspan. Edition 1/3.
- Dimensions apply to
- Nasher-published dimensions and edition designation for its commissioned example; no transfer to other casts.
- Availability
- Unconfirmed
Places & versions
Installation history
Historical presentations. A past installation does not establish the current location or suitability for a new site.
Installation reported November 18, 2021
Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, Mary D.B.T. Semans Great Hall, Durham, North Carolina
- Site
- Mary D.B.T. Semans Great Hall, Nasher Museum of Art
- City
- Durham
- State / region
- NC
- Country
- United States (inferred; not independently confirmed)
- Commissioner
- Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University
- Setting
- indoor
- Start year
- 2021
- Date meaning
- reported
Installation details checked 2026-10-17.
2021 exhibition; year corroborated by museum board report, exact artwork dates unverified
Legion of Honor Museum, San Francisco, California
- Site
- Legion of Honor Museum
- City
- San Francisco
- State / region
- CA
- Country
- United States (inferred; not independently confirmed)
- Event
- Wangechi Mutu: I Am Speaking, Are You Listening?
- Historical siting
- temporary
- Start year
- 2021
- Date meaning
- reported
Installation details checked 2026-10-17. Supporting source ↗.
Materials and construction
The documented Nasher presentation is indoors. Nasher identifies the earlier Legion of Honor presentation; the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco board report corroborates the exhibition’s 2021 year. Exact installation/removal days and the artwork’s setting at the Legion remain unverified.
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Sources
- nasher.duke.edu ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17
- www.sfgov.org ↗ · Checked 2026-10-17