BELKIS AYÓN
Belkis Ayón and Ángel Ramírez
b. Havana, Cuba, 1967-– d. Havana, Cuba, 1999
b. Havana, Cuba, 1954; resides in Havana, Cuba
Dando y dando (Give and Take)
1997
Collagraph
Collection of Susie and Mitchell Rice
Belkis Ayón learned and mastered the collagraph printing technique under the tutelage of Ángel Ramírez at the Academia San Alejandro in Havana. This collaborative work, created for their 1997 two-person Tokyo exhibition, was the genesis of the Dando y dando (Give and Take) project subsequently launched by Ramírez as an intimate tribute to Ayón following her death.
In this large-format collagraph print, the two artists marry individual styles in harmonious integration of their visual languages.
The foundational pillars of Cuban culture unite as Ramírez’s European icon of Saint George and Ayón’s African-Abakuá figure exchange attributes. Significant symbols of two cultures are reciprocated: the Roman Catholic chalice appears with the Abakuá figure, and the serpent―significant in the Abakuá cosmogony―accompanies the saint. Each figure is framed by an arch that is more characteristic of the other artist, namely the cinquefoil and gothic arches, respectively. Additionally, each character extends a hand in an offering gesture, symbolizing the syncretism of Cuban culture referred to as ajiaco, a rich stew.
*This piece was included in the exhibition section titled "The Spirit of the Real, the Reality of the Spirit"
Belkis Ayón
b. Havana, Cuba, 1967-– d. Havana, Cuba, 1999
Akanabionké, Akuaramina, Sikaneka, Sikán
1987
Collagraph
Collection of Susie and Mitchell Rice
Belkis Ayón, who died prematurely and tragically at age 32, is an internationally renowned artist. A graduate of art schools in Havana, her large-format collagraph prints, technical excellence, and postmodern artistic research revolutionized printmaking.
Ayón invents a personal iconography based on the oral tradition of mythology and storytelling in Abakuá, the Afro-Cuban belief system and male-only secret society. She addresses violence, intolerance, gender discrimination, censorship, and power dynamics through her masterful use of a monochromatic palette.
Ayón’s early print Akanabionké, Akuaramina, Sikaneka, Sikán, references the sacrifice of the princess Sikán in the Abakuá fraternity's genesis myth. Sikán is represented as a trinity about to be hanged by the legendary leopard-man of Abakuá. The sacrifice of Sikán ensures man's possession of power and the replacement of matriarchy with patriarchy.
*This piece was included in the exhibition section titled "The Spirit of the Real, the Reality of the Spirit"
Belkis Ayón
b. Havana, Cuba, 1967-– d. Havana, Cuba, 1999
Untitled (Laberinto de grecas) (Greek Pattern Labyrinth)
1996
Collagraph
In this work, Belkis Ayón does not reinterpret the spoken-word legend of the Afro-Cuban fraternity known as Abakuá, but instead creates a new narrative to express grievance, desperation, and fear. The elimination of ears, nose, and mouth in the figures reflects the artist's interest in depicting truncated communication related to the silences in her life and the political-economic reality of the period. It was a time of breaks, losses, and disappointments for her generation.
Notably, the unusual profile silhouette on the lower right explicitly depicts the artist's face.
*This piece was included in the exhibition section titled "The Spirit of the Real, the Reality of the Spirit"
