Belkis Ayón (1967–1999), a Cuban printmaker born in Havana, revolutionized collography through large-scale works that delved into the secretive mythology of Abakuá, an Afro-Cuban male-only society rooted in Nigerian traditions, reinterpreting its narratives from a female perspective to explore silence, betrayal, and gender exclusion. Her stark black-and-white compositions, featuring mouthless figures with elongated heads and vacant eyes amid textured patterns, blended ritual symbolism with critiques of patriarchy and Cuban socio-political constraints, earning her international acclaim before her untimely death at 32. Exhibiting at venues like the Venice Biennale and Havana Biennial, Ayón's oeuvre challenges cultural taboos, merging abstraction with allegory to highlight the burdens of secrecy and the resilience of marginalized voices.