In Luluwa society, sculptures like this female figure were created to protect women and children. Her muscular limbs, erect posture, and determined face appear profoundly contemporary, recalling the strength and poise of women we know today. Whitten admired Luluwa figures not only for their formal, geometric qualities, but also for the range of functions they perform. It was this sense of agency—this capacity to effect change in the world—that Whitten would increasingly seek to draw out of his own materials and sculptures.