Mika Rottenberg’s installation Cheese conflates farm-girl imagery, motifs from the fairy tale “Rapunzel”, and elements from the story of the Sutherland Sisters, who were renowned in the late nineteenth century for their extremely long hair. Floating through a pastoral maze-like setting of raw wooden debris cobbled together into a shantytown, six long-haired women in flowing white nightgowns “milk” their locks and the goats they live with to generate cheese. Shots of animals crowded in pens and the sisters’ room, which is cluttered with bunk beds, create a visual comparison between the female protagonists and their goats. As nurturing caretakers, these women represent maternal aspects of Mother Nature. In this work, Rottenberg investigates feminine “magic” – what she describes as the ability to “grow things out of the body” – as the ultimate, most wondrous physical mystery.

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