Artwork Page for I Always Return

Details / Information for I Always Return

I Always Return

1993, printed 1994
(Cuban, 1967–1999)
Sheet: 94.6 x 68 cm (37 1/4 x 26 3/4 in.); Matted: 115.1 x 87 cm (45 5/16 x 34 1/4 in.)
© Belkis Ayón
Catalogue raisonné: Ayón 93.11
Location: not on view
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.

Download, Print and Share

Did You Know?

Of Sikán, the subject of this work, Belkis Ayón wrote that “[she] is a transgressor and I see her as such, as I also see myself.”

Description

Belkis Ayón worked almost exclusively in collography, a printmaking technique in which a three-dimensional plate embosses designs into paper, to depict the subject seen here: Abakuá, a secretive fraternal society established by African slaves in 19th-century Cuba. Because the founding myths of the group were not well known and it had no visual tradition, Ayón invented her own. Here, a faceless figure—presumably Sikán, a princess sacrificed following an act of betrayal in Abakuá mythology—floats imposingly above three initiates.
A collagraph print, in shades of dark gray, depicting silhouettes of four figures, each decorated with plants and other nature motifs. The larger silhouette of a figure surrounded by flames floats above three smaller silhouettes who reach upwards.

I Always Return

1993, printed 1994

Belkis Ayón

(Cuban, 1967–1999)
Cuba

See Also

Videos

A Graphic Revolution

Visually Similar by AI

    CMA Store

    Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art

    This reissue of Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art present...
    Women of the World: A Global Collection of Art

    Women in Art | Tattoos

    Revisit timeless masterpieces by incredible female artists with these...
    Women in Art | Tattoos

    Discover Her Art

    "An inclusive, easy-to-read guidebook to women artists." — Publishers...
    Discover Her Art

    Heroic Women of the Art World

    Other than a scattered few, women have not often been portrayed among...
    Heroic Women of the Art World

    Contact us

    The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

    To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

    All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.