Analyzing the national identity's representation in Ana Mendieta's works by emphasizing the piece " Image from Yagul " from the Silueta series

Introduction: Ana Mendieta (1985-1948) is one of contemporary art history's most influential female artists. Her work encompasses land art, performance art, and body art. Ana Mendieta's art is dynamic and brings significant emotional reactions to the audience because of her unique and sophisticated strategies, such as working in open spaces and unusual places, and her interdisciplinary aspects. This study aims to analyze and examine national identity's representation in this artist's works, emphasizing the piece "Image from Yagul" from the Silueta series. "Image from Yagul, "created in 1973, is considered the first work in the Silueta series. Generally, this collection, created between 1973 and 1981, encompasses over 200 works and is considered this artist's most significant collection. The study's main question is what this artist's attitude and tendency toward the representation of national identity in her works are, specifically in the abovementioned work. The research method is descriptive-analytical, and the method of collecting library data is taking notes and reading images. In addition, the findings were analyzed qualitatively. According to the findings of the study, the piece "Image from Yagul" from the Silueta series represents Mendieta's cultural approaches, ideological principles, and national and sexual pride, clearly revealing to the society "where" and "who" she was. This piece of work, as well as representing the content of gender identity and the metaphor of returning to the earth as a goddess, womb, and mother, reflects different dimensions of national identities, including the historical, geographical, cultural, ethnic, religious, literary and mythological of Cuba. 
Theoretical background: Some topics can be mentioned as the current research's background. In terms of foreign studies, the following issues can be noted: (Pavleska, 2021); (Baker, 2016); (Aldegani, 2016); (Alvarado, 2015); (Finkelstein, 2012); (Best, 2007); (Blocker, 1999). Although among internal studies, no independent research has been conducted on Ana Mendieta, there are references to her in the following sources: (Najafi & Shirazi, 2019); (Najafi, 2017); (Arbabzadeh et al., 2017); (Nadaliyan, 2011). Considering the background, independent research on Analyzing the national identity's representation in Ana Mendieta's works by emphasizing the Silueta series and also independent research on the piece "Image from Yagul" from this collection has not been conducted, and the author has not seen any research on this topic.
Purpose and question of the research: This study aims to analyze and examine how national identity is reflected in the works of the Cuban-American artist Ana Mendieta by emphasizing the piece "Image from Yagul" from the Silueta series. Moreover, this study intends to address the question of Ana Mendieta's attitude and tendency toward national identity reflection (representation) in her works, particularly the work mentioned in the Silueta series.
Research Methodology: This article's research method is descriptive-analytical. The method of collecting library data is through taking notes and reading images. The data analysis method is contentive, qualitative, and based on a sociological approach to reflection (representation). The study samples are Ana Mendieta's works, a Cuban-American female artist, emphasizing the piece "Image from Yagul" from the Silueta series.
Analysis and discussion: In the short years in which Ana Mendieta was artistically active, she created a unique collection in an uncommon language. When she left her family and country (Cuba) as a teenager, she faced discrimination and felt like an illegitimate person in a racist society in the United States. Due to this issue, she had a complex conflict with the contents of racial and gender differences, which was reflected in his artworks. Mendieta's only remaining painting from her student days, the painting of a portrait of a brown-skinned woman, is a reflection of these cultural and racial conflicts oner. She also showed these feelings and inner manifestations after giving up painting, continuing her interdisciplinary art path, and creating significant pieces, including "Grass on the Woman" and "The Death of a Chicken," considered her first body art and her first performance art pieces, respectively. In the following, she made use of the body explicitly and implicitly as the center of identical aspects, including gender, race, and ethnicity, and along with her previous works, she represented her natural roots and her origin and homeland, Cuba, through the whole Silueta series. Along with representing the content of gender identity and the metaphor of returning to the earth as a goddess, womb, and mother, the Silueta series, which begins with the word "Image from Yagul, "reflects various aspects of the national identity of Cuba. In this work, Mendieta uses identical elements to revive her identity and roots while condemning exploitation and decentralization and rising to resistance and rebellion against foreigners' dominance.