Her work is often in black and white, consisting of ghost-white figures with oblong heads and empty, almond-shaped eyes, set against dark, patterned backgrounds.

From 1986 to 1991, Ayón attended the prestigious Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana where she gained a bachelor's degree in Engraving, and joined its faculty after graduation.

[2] A central theme of Ayón's art is Abakuá, a secret, exclusively male association with a complex mythology that informs their rites and traditions.

The fraternal society began in Nigeria at Cross River and Akwa Ibom and was brought to Haiti and Cuba through the slave trade in the 19th century.

[3] Ayón researched the history of Abakuá extensively, with special emphasis on the most prominent and only female figure in the religion, Princess Sikan.

According to a central Abakuán myth, Sikan once accidentally captured Tanze, an enchanted fish which imparted great power to those who heard its voice.

In this way, Belkis rebelled against the sexist and patriarchal culture argued to be ingrained in Cuban society by highlighting the religion's feminine presence.

She painstakingly attached materials of widely differing textures (for example, vegetable peelings, bits of paper, acrylic, and abrasives) to a cardboard substrate, painting over the matrix to create dimension.

Towards the end of Ayón's career, she worked on a large scale, sometimes joining as many as 18 sheets together to construct a single image, or attaching oversized prints to an armature that would give them architectural volume, towering over viewers.

The prints feature both animals — such as snakes, fish, and goats — and human forms, references to art history, and religious iconography.

[14] Ayón's work Untitled (Sikán with White Tips), a monochromatic print made in 1993, is also featured in the collection of the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM).