February 13, 2025, through August 10, 2025
Goodman Gallery
“My art is the way I reestablish the bonds that unite me to the universe.” –Ana Mendieta
This latest installation in the Museum’s Video Art Series features work by Ana Mendieta (American, b. Cuba, 1948–1985), whose groundbreaking art explores the relationship between humans and the land.
For this film Mendieta created an impression in the ground based on the outline of her own body, then filled it with gunpowder. Three stones placed in the chest of this figure suggest its heart. Over the course of the film we see fire consume the figure, moving from its feet to its head until only a hollow imprint remains.
This powerful performance reflects Mendieta’s longing for a sense of homeland. At age twelve she and her sister left their family in Cuba through Operation Pedro Pan; as a result, they spent their teens in a series of American foster homes and orphanages. Mendieta’s art reckons with this trauma, seeking healing through reconnection with the earth.
The title of this work references the Afro-Cuban religion Palo Monte Mayombe. Mendieta often drew upon the language and iconography of Afro-Caribbean faiths in her work, finding a sense of ancestry and belonging through this practice.
Generous support for this project provided by Art Bridges.
The Video Art Series is made possible by the generosity of Francie Bishop Good and David Horvitz.