Ana Mendieta: ‘Grass Breathing’
Ana Mendieta, Grass Breathing, 1974. Super-8mm film transferred to high-definition digital media, colour, silent, 3 min 8 sec
About the Work
In Grass Breathing, an area of grass gently pulsates, rising and falling in a rhythm of breath, set in motion by the invisible artist’s body underneath. It belongs to a series of short film works the Cuban-born, US-based artist Ana Mendieta made in the 1970s and 1980s: ephemeral performances using natural elements and her own body. Collectively, these ‘earth-body’ works evoked the synergy between the human body and the living earth. Mendieta said, ‘Having been torn from my homeland (Cuba) during my adolescence, 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.’
About the Artist
Ana Mendieta (b. 1948, Havana, Cuba; d.1985, New York, USA) was an interdisciplinary artist, referring to herself as a sculptor. She is best known for her earth-body works, most specifically her now iconic ‘Silueta’ series, in which she used her body – and later the absence of the body – in the landscape as a way of connecting with nature and the universe. Over 15 years, Mendieta created a body of pioneering work that continues to be influential. Her innovative work has been the subject of 56 monographic exhibitions which includes 16 retrospectives. Her works are in more than 120 public collections worldwide.
About EMAP x FRIEZE FILM SEOUL
For the third year in a row, Frieze Film returns to Frieze Seoul 2024. This year’s programme is presented in partnership with Ewha Media Art Presentation (EMAP) and is on view from 2 – 6 September at Ewha Womans University and online at frieze.com.
Curated by Joowon Park and Valentine Umansky, this year’s programme is titled ‘All that Weaves the Universe: Of Quantum Entanglements’. It brings together time-based media works of 37 international artists, unfolding under eight chapters.
