Leiden University Student Repository

Kampel, Alexandra Jill Caroline (2024)

Crossing Boundaries: Ecofeminism and Displacement Trauma in Mendieta’s The Silueta Series

Bachelor thesis | Kunstgeschiedenis (BA)

Abstract and keywords: Art and nature have traditionally been perceived as separate worlds: art as a product of human creativity, and nature as a force independent of human intervention. However, Ana Mendieta, a Cuban-born American artist, challenges this distinction through her Silueta series (1973-1980), where she merges her body with natural elements such as wood, and stone. This body-based art crosses the boundaries between human identity and the natural world, taking inspiration from her displacement from Cuba in 1961 as part of Operation Pedro Pan. By examining 1 Mendieta’s Silueta Series through the theoretical frameworks of ecofeminism and environmental art, the paper explores how the artist redefines female agency and explores the relationship between women and nature, offering a broader critique of displacement trauma and societal power structures, including patriarchy. Keywords: Ana Mendieta, Silueta Series, Ecofeminism, Body art, and environmental/land art.

Author

Kampel, Alexandra Jill Caroline

Faculty

Faculty of Humanities

Specialisation

Art History: Arts Media and Society

Supervisors

Dr Ksenia Fedorova

ECTS Credits

10

Language

en