Without a Face: the significance of the faceless/anonymous woman

Images of women with their faces blank or obscured in some way are not unheard of. This phenomenon goes back to prehistoric times (Woman from Willendorf) but is seen more often beginning in the twentieth century (Rene Magritte, Gerhard Richter, Yinka Shonibare). It is less common, however, for women artists to produce such imagery. But in the last decade or so, images of women without faces have become more of a trend among female artists. Clearly, these are not portraits in any traditional sense, but are they significant markers for the cultural and social position of women in the present moment? In this paper, I want to dig more deeply into the meanings and implications of what it means to depict women in the twenty-first century as faceless and anonymous.

I will examine the work of three disparate female artists who employ this tactic in varying ways in their work. Marie-Chloe Duval’s paintings of faceless women are without identity markers; Ana Elisa Fernandez’s paintings represent known figures either historical or fictional; Melissa Ichiuji’s sculptural works are both incredibly intimate and personal (infantilized, sexualized, displayed) but also faceless and anonymous.

Representation does matter. Faceless female imagery provides a rich opportunity for considering how female artists deal with questions of identity, gender/politics, and narrative. These fascinating and provocative works challenge traditional portraiture and invite viewers to ask different questions not only about representation but also about how we write women’s histories in visual form.