London Study Visit

Ana Mendieta

Ana Mendieta- Untitled-1976

I went to see Mendieta's exhibition at the Haywood gallery because her work is relevant to my printing project on accumulation and disperse. The work that I find particularly interesting was when Mendieta creates prints of her natural form in her natural surroundings; because of this her work is presented on large photographic prints which are really effective as they are all mostly in black and white. This exhibition mainly focused on her later works and as well as the photographs there is a lot of other media such as drawing, sculpture and film.

Ana Mendieta-Silhouette-1976

 Mendieta's work is very inventive as well as provocative, she likes to include the elements earth, fire and water in her work to keep it as close to nature as possible. When she is creating her work she creates and repeats a ritual, the prints that are made are to me both a print and a sculpture. She is inspired by the culture of Cuba where she was born, but was then taken to America to grow up. This became an interest to Mendieta who felt an almost cultural displacement because she hadn't been able to discover the culture of her roots.

She wanted to be reborn into the culture which is why her work focus' around rebirth, spiritual transformation and metaphors between life and death. Her work is a statement, but still wants to personify the natural beauty of the world. She says that her work is a metaphor and a representation of power and the magic of the sole. I think that the ways the prints are make are really interesting and I will look at trying to reflect work into mine.

http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/festivals-series/ana-mendieta/artist-biography-ana-mendieta

http://museumpublicity.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Ana-Mendieta-.jpg

http://www.english.wayne.edu/fac_pages/ewatten/images/mendieta3.jpg