At the core of Mendieta’s work, was what she called the her Silueta Series, featuring a human shaped silhouette, initially based on the scale of her body. Over more than a decade, the Siluetas she created – her earth body works – varied in materials and evolved, becoming increasingly Ethereal, gradually, they blended more and more seamlessly with nature.

Mendieta;s work, particularly ‘Silueta’ weren’t simply about representing a human form, the imprints were a temporary intervention in the landscape. The work was a moment that was reclaimed by the environment.

The importance of the work is that there was something there, using materials that carry memory, earth, glass, sand, stone, mud and water, treating the landscape as the back drop for the art. The materials used become part of the memory experience.

The relationship between Mendieta and the Above and Below series is between the surface and the depth. Presence and absence, the way a place can hold something that is not necessarily immediately visible to the viewer. Her intentions often placed human shapes traced into the landscape, earth or sand becoming visible on the surface but also somewhere deeper In memory and history, a sense of belonging or absence. What exists on the surface and what lies beneath it.

Looking beyond what is visible on the surface and what lies beneath it, her work often creates a temporary trace within the landscape, allowing the ground to become a surface where memory and absence overlap.

Mendieta’s works were not permanent, but ever changing through weather, time and surrounding landscapes.

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Vicky and I discussed a new collaboration for 3.3. We both felt very inspired with Mendieta’s work on the coast. The negative space of our bodies, maybe a crusifix form or with our angel wings? Perhaps something similar to washing away sin and plastic site pollution in the ocean. We both thought the red pigment was really striking and looked so vibrant in an otherwise natural environment. We wouldn’t use anything detrimental to the environment and will both research what is appropriate.

Untitled Silueta Series