La Tierra Habla translates as The Earth Speaks. During her visits to the region of Jaruco State Park, Mendieta created Esculturas Rupestres (Rupestrian Sculptures) in and around the Escaleras de Jaruco, known historically as a natural safe space for rebels and the persecuted, who used to seek out this wild majestic landscape in times of need. Etching under the Cuban sun, Mendieta carved figures into limestone cave walls. Taking advantage of the natural formations and special characteristics, her rough etches harness a psychological mystical power communing with the earth, as if they were birthed from the rocks.

Ana Mendieta herself described her practice as an intimate act of communion with the earth, a loving return to the mother’s womb. As a young girl, Mendieta was exiled to the United States in 1961 by way of Operation Pedro Pan and forced to abandon her country, family, traditions, and friends. Due to this experience, she felt a sense of displacement and alienation, which she later explored through her work. Often referring to being ‘torn’ from her homeland, Mendieta persistently sought to connect with her origins and the Cuba she left as a child. Among the major themes in her work are exile, displacement, and a return to the landscape – inquiries that remain profoundly relevant today.

Itiba Cahubaba (Esculturas Rupestres), 1981/2019
Black and white photograph, 101.6 x 139.7 cm
Courtesy of The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris

Bacayu (Esculturas Rupestres), 1981/2019
Black and white photograph, 139.7 x 101.6 cm
Courtesy of The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris

Maroya (Esculturas Rupestres), 1981/2019
Black and white photograph, 139.7 x 101.9 cm
Courtesy of The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris

Atabey (Esculturas Rupestres), 1981/2018
Black and white photograph, 101.6 x 135.3 cm
Courtesy of The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris

Untitled (Esculturas Rupestres), 1981/2018
Black and white photograph, 139.7 x 101.6 cm
Courtesy of The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris

Guacar (Esculturas Rupestres), 1981/2018
Black and white photograph, 104.1 x 135.9 cm
Courtesy of The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris

Untitled, 1981
Super-8mm film transferred to high-definition digital media, black and white, silent, 1’26’’
Courtesy of The Estate of Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galerie Lelong & Co., New York and Paris