Ana Mendieta’s singular vision is sharper than ever
Robert Barry, Apollo Magazine
September 2026
Ana Mendieta was always staging her own disappearance. In Energy Charge, a 49-second film from 1975, we see her dark outline approach the foot of a tall tree. Standing in front of its trunk with arms outstretched, her silhouette suddenly flashes bright red, as if she were a burning bush or atomic pile, blazing with wild energy but destined to burn out. She would shroud herself in flowers (Imágen de Yágul, 1973), conceal herself under turf (Grass Breathing, c. 1974), inhume herself in the earth (Burial Pyramid, 1974). Even her own hair (Untitled, 1972) – or, for that matter, someone else’s (Untitled (Facial Hair Transplants), 1972) – could provide the means of self-concealment. […]