Now I believe in water, air, and earth. They are all deities. They also speak [...] Those are the things that are powerful and important. I don't know why people have gotten away from these ideas. (Ana Mendieta, 1983)
Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta, whose career was abruptly interrupted with her early death in 1985, made over 100 films between the early 1970s and early 80s. In many of them, the artist used her own body to relate to nature in a poetic, direct and unmediated manner.
Ana Mendieta’s films reveal the artist’s deep engagement with the environment. With this unique selection of 15 short films made between 1971 and 1981, Mendieta is presented as a pioneering artist who used film to initiate intense dynamics between her own body, her identity as a woman, and the concrete strength of landscape and the elements of water, air, and earth.
The session is followed by a compelling film portrait of Mendieta made by her niece, Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, which reveals rarely seen footage of the artist.
Untitled, c. 1971, 02:00 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Creek, 1974, #22, 03:11 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Ocean Bird (Washup), 1974, 04:09 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Mirage, 1974, 03:12 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Weather Balloon, Feathered Balloon, 1974, 03:42 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Alma, Silueta en Fuego, 1975, 03:07 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Corazon de Roca con Sangre, 1975, 03:14 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Energy Charge, 1975, 0:49 min. 16mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Butterfly, 1975, 03:19 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Alma, Silueta de Cohetes (Firework Piece), 1976, 02:23 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Untitled: Silueta Series, 1978, 06:31 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Silueta de Arena, 1978, 01:33 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Untitled: Silueta Series, 1978, 03:14 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Untitled: Silueta Series, 1979, 03:09 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, color, silent.
Birth (Gunpowder Works), 1981, 02:59 min. Super-8mm film transferred to HD, black-and-white, silent.
Raquel Cecilia Mendieta, Ana Mendieta, Nature Inside, 2015, 08:23 min. Color, sound.
Total running time: 54:55 min.
Free public access. Please note that entry will be granted upon presentation of a Swiss or EU COVID-19 certificate and a photo ID.
