Ana Mendieta
The film X-rays, made in the mid-1970s, shows moving X-ray images of the skull of Cuban artist Ana Mendieta. Her head is X-rayed from various angles while she repeats the same sequence of vowels and consonants. She uses fluoroscopy technology from the University of Iowa, which is otherwise used to diagnose speech disorders. Mendieta's vocalisations are reminiscent of tongues spoken in a trance; she described herself as a ‘Neolithic shaman’. With X-rays, the artist creates a self-portrait in which her visible self transcends into a primal being when viewed through X-rays.