A Look Closer: How Belkis Ayón uses Gaze

28 November 2024

In Belkis Ayón’s work, the eyes are the only facial features shown, exuding an intensity that transcends words. Are they anxious? Commanding? Secretive? This deliberate ambiguity heightens the sense of mystery and myth, suggesting that the themes in her art are universally relevant.

A photo of a man in an art gallery looking at a collograph print by artist Belkis Ayón. The print depicts a figure with no eyes or mouth staring directly into the camera. A snake is wrapped over the shoulder and a fish is floating above their head.

The concept of the gaze – how we look at art and how the subject looks back – has fascinated artists and audiences throughout history. From da Vinci’s Mona Lisa to Vermeer’s Girl with a Pearl Earring, the gaze has been a potent tool to evoke emotion, assert power, and draw viewers into a narrative, sometimes making them complicit in the stories being told.

“The eyes look at you directly… you cannot hide – wherever you go, they are there, always watching, making you an accomplice to what you see,” Ayón reflected in an interview with Revolución y Cultura.

A black and white collograph print by Belkis Ayón of figures with no features just eyes. They are looking at each other and holding each others faces. In the background figures are fighting.

Through her watchful figures, Ayón redefines the gaze, transforming it into a channel for connection and confrontation. Her art invites us to engage, question, and reflect – making us both observers and participants in the myths she brings to life.

A photo of a collograph print by Belkis Ayon showing a regal figure holding a staff, looking up. A hand offers him something.

Belkis Ayón: Sikán Illuminations is on display until 9 February 2025.