Mekenna Buce

Marty the Mule: More Stubborn than Death Itself, 2025

Sculpture

This piece is a memorial to one of the most important and yet stereotyped animals in the world; the mule. In my work, I like to use the judged, the weird, and the misinterpreted as my subject. Mules are an example of all 3. A common misconception about mules, is that they are quite dumb. Being half donkey, they often get labeled as creatures with no common sense and very weak strength. However that is farther than the truth. Mules are actually very intelligent and also quite strong, which makes them an important part of our agriculture and transportation. They inherit the strength and stamina of a horse, and the intelligence and practicalness of a donkey. This allows mules to work in rougher terrains that other animals cannot, and provide much aid to people in agriculture around the world.

As a woman with dwarfism, a commonly misinterpreted and judged disability, I think it’s important to not judge someone by their differences, because as we can see from the mule, different certainly does not mean bad.