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Courtesy the artist and envoy enterprises

Ana Mendieta
2014
16 x 10 x 6 inches
polymer clay, acrylic paint, repurposed porcelain doll bodies,
synthetic doll hair, fabric, mirror, hot glue

“I am a Starseed.

 


"Starseeds are people from another planet who come to earth specifically to fulfill a mission. They often feel isolated as though they don't quite fit into human society.

 

"I spent the better part of the years 2004-2011 studying the faces of world leaders who were involved in wars during my lifetime. Sculpting porcelain busts and writing songs in their imagined minds was an exercise I undertook in order to grasp the massive numbers of people killed in conflicts during my life. I wanted to understand how a small number of people could affect massive numbers of people so I had to stare them in the face. I had to get inside their minds. I wanted to understand how I am connected to these individuals because I believe that I am.

 

"Finally I was done. I just could not sculpt another world leader. And on a whim I sculpted the head of Joni Mitchell, the iconic songwriter. Realizing I had been ignoring a huge piece of the world I live in by focusing only on one type of person, a type of person who felt like the opposite to me, I realized how desperately I wanted to stare into the faces of those people with whom I could identify. People of my species. I started sculpting people with whom I felt a total kinship. I used only the subliminal logic of my fingertips to guide my choices of humans and the results are in this exhibition.

 

"The sculpted figures include Beyoncé, Eva Hesse, Nico, Ana Mendieta, Joan Jett, Madonna, Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush, Louise Bourgeois, Joan Jonas, Alice Neel, Maya Deren, Etta James, Patti Smith, PJ Harvey, Nina Simone, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Frida Kahlo, Amy Sedaris, Marina Abramovic, Yoko Ono, Tracy Chapman, Laurie Anderson, Nina Hagen, Shannon Funchess, Yayoi Kusama, Yva Las Vegas, Missy Elliot, Bjork, and M.I.A."—R.M.