Carolee Schneemann’s evocative piece, Hand-Heart for Ana Mendieta (1986), is an homage to Ana Mendieta, a Cuban American artist famed for her “earth-body” artworks. As friends and fellow artists parallels can be drawn between their practices, with Schneemann describing this connection as the “sensory, psychic realms in which our bodies manifested energy against cultural constrictions and prohibitions.” Hand-Heart for Ana Mendieta visually echoes Mendieta’s practice, particularly her profound work Blood Sign #2/Body Tracks (1974) in which she trailed blood from her forearms in a downward motion, leaving a trace of her action on the wall.

Mendieta’s death is shrouded in unresolved mystery, a tragedy that had a huge effect on Schneemann, who shortly after her friend’s passing was plagued with a dream about her. Waking up, Schneemann ran out into the snow, then returned inside to make drawings of her vision – Ana’s hands falling through space, making heart gestures covered in paint which turned to blood. This dream manifested as a choreographed performance in which Schneemann marked the heart shapes into now with paint, blood, ashes and syrup. The photographs that run down the central panel of the work were taken by a specialised road accident photographer, truthfully capturing the intense action of the performance.

Hand-Heart for Ana Mendieta (1986) appeared in Marielle Nitoslawska’s 2012 feature-length documentary, Breaking the Frame – a significant film dedicated to chronicling the life of Carolee Schneemann and her work.