Ana Mendieta: Back to the Source

Using the earth as a sculptural medium, Mendieta conveyed notions of existence, resurgence and renewal through site-inclusive works that were exquisitely ethereal and transitory The Cuban American artist Ana Mendieta (1948–85) was a pioneer and innovator whose singular artistic interventions in the landscape embraced nature and defied societal conventions. With her body as material, and driven by nature’s symbolic meaning, she sought to integrate power, magic and knowledge into her work, using natural materials as well as the four elements. Feathers, flowers, branches, moss, fireworks and gunpowder were often part of ritual practices to return her to the land and connect her to the universal. Her body of work testifies to a passionate engagement with themes of exile and displacement, reconnecting with the earth, and the search for belonging and origin. Creating a rich and diverse body of work that included ephemeral sculptures, Mendieta, in her film and photographic works, captures