This is a self-portrait of ANA MENDIETA (1948–1985), an influential Cuban-born artist affiliated with 1970s ecofeminism

This is a self-portrait of ANA MENDIETA (1948–1985), an influential Cuban-born artist affiliated with 1970s ecofeminism. She died on this day in suspicious circumstances in 1985. 







Ana's teenage years were spent in constant upheaval after she was forced to leave Havana at 12 years old. Ana and her sister were two of 14,000 children who migrated from Cuba to the USA through 'Operation Peter Pan' due to fears that children were at risk of being separated from parents under Fidel Castro’s rule. Ana and her sister arrived in a refugee camp, moving between foster homes and orphanages until finally being reunited with their parents and brother. Her father, Ignacio, had spent 18 years in prison for his role in the Bay of Pigs Invasion.

Ana discovered a love of art which she pursued at college (though she faced discrimination). Her work centered upon identity politics, violence against women (seen in her work ‘Rape Scene’ from 1973), but also Afro-Cuban cultural, religious, and artistic influences. Ana's art evolved to focus on the natural world, which inspired over 200 of her ‘earth works’. In 1978 she joined the first gallery for women to be established in the U.S.A, 'Artists in Residents' (A.I.R) but questioned the white feminism that dominated America.

Ana's displacement informed her famous Silueta Series: "I am overwhelmed by the feeling of having been cast from the womb (nature). My art is the way I re-establish the bonds that unite me to the universe. It is a return to the maternal source". 

Ana created the outline of her Siluetas by moulding her body to the natural landscape, she would then use diverse materials - from leaves to blood on top. Ana was one of the first artists to combine land, body and performance in Ecofeminist art.

In 1985, Ana fell from the 34th floor of her apartment block in NYC where she had lived with her husband and fellow artist Carl Andre. They were heard arguing by neighbours prior, but Carl claimed it was a suicide due to Ana's jealousy that he was "more exposed to the public". He was tried and acquitted of murder. His acquittal outraged feminists and artists around the world and has continued to inspire protests and exhibition.

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