Ana Mendieta exhibition opens at Tate Modern

Tate Modern has opened a major exhibition dedicated to the Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta, representing the largest showcase of her work in the United Kingdom. The exhibition features a range of media, including performance, land art, and ritualistic works that explore themes of birth, life, and death.

Artistic methods and themes

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Mendieta's practice frequently utilised the human body to engage with environmental and social issues. Her Silueta series, created between 1973 and 1980, involved inscribing her body's outline into landscapes using sand, mud, snow, and fire. She also produced Rupestrian Sculptures by carving directly into limestone cave walls in Cuba's Jaruco Park. According to The Standard, her work combined performance and land art while remaining rooted in ancient ritual.

The exhibition includes remastered Super 8 films documenting her 1970s and early 1980s performances. One notable piece involves the artist pouring cow's blood over her head before rolling in white chicken feathers. Other works include acrylics and graphite drawings on amate paper, a bark commonly used in Mayan contexts.

Historical context and activism

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The exhibition arrives following years of scrutiny regarding the artist's historical exclusion from major institutions. In 2016, feminist activists from the WHEREISANAMENDIETA collective and the group Sisters Uncut protested at Tate Modern. The protest targeted the display of work by Carl Andre and the lack of representation for Mendieta.

Mendieta died on 8 September 1985, aged 36, after falling from a 34th-floor Manhattan apartment. Her husband, the sculptor Carl Andre, was charged with her murder but was acquitted due to insufficient evidence, as reported by The Standard.

The feminist movement of the mid to late 1960s was intended to end the domination and exploitation by the white male culture, but instead it failed to remember us.

Ana Mendieta, as cited in exhibition catalogue

The exhibition remains open at Tate Modern until 17 January.