Marks and Reflections

I became interested in Ana Mendieta’s work after taking a closer look at her Siluetas series. For Siluetas, Mendieta would physically embed her body in nature to leave behind a trace or mark on earth. These performances are experienced through photography and video documentation. In the photograph or video, we get to see either an image of Mendieta herself submerged in nature to become part of it or we see the absence of her body, but a trace or mark on the earth is left behind. Mendieta sees this performance with the earth, as a way to connect with Cuban Santeria beliefs, including the idea that the earth is a “living thing” from which one can derive personal power.1

Mendieta’s body and the earth become one another. Her body marks nature to fill the void she might have felt from the loss of part of her self-identity she may have suffered when she left Cuba. The trace or mark left on earth symbolizes this void, but more so for the wanting or her desire to be something else. I think Mendieta’s specific personal meaning is difficult to read. However, I see her performance with her body and earth as a becoming-earth. The deep connection to the earth and the becoming-earth approach is the main reason I find myself attracted to her work.

This becoming-earth makes me think of our human need to leave a mark behind on earth to prove our own existence. Her usage of earth as a material also brings to mind the ancient tradition of marking. Throughout history people have looked at marks found on caves or rocks to understand long-lost cultures. For example, the ancient Colombian civilization of San Agustin, did not consider the human on top of the natural hierarchy. The San Agustin people believed some of the animals were above humans and others below.

I definitely need to do more research on this topic, but I find this viewpoint fascinating. While I do not intend to my work to communicate a need for humans to return to ancient ways of thinking, I would like to examine the ancient views of humans’ relationships with animals and the way this was conveyed in their art and long history of mark making.


For now, these two photographs above are photographic sketches because they are an exploration of these new ideas. This came about from a combination of the many readings done in class and my study of Mendieta’s Siluetas. There are many technical aspects that I will need to work on, but I enjoy the idea of the animal being on the mirror and the mark left behind by the animal on the earth.




1. Jones, Amelia (2003) Selection from Body Art/Performing the Subject in Art of the Twentieth Century: A Reader.

Copyright © 2011 Diana M. Sanchez. All Rights Reserved.