Description

In this work, Ana Mendieta creates a monumental female figure from lit fireworks, and she films the burning silhouette until it extinguishes. Combining elements of performance, installation art, video, and photography, this "earth body" work, as the artist describes it, is part of Mendieta's Silueta series. The Siluetas were groundbreaking contributions to the Land Art movement, largely dominated by male artists. As the film opens, the dark night is broken by a series of small explosions that form the silhouette and burn out slowly. The imagery is a metaphor for the passage of time and self-transformation, deeply personal themes for the artist.