Discover Eyes to Fly With, the first major retrospective exhibition in Belgium by renowned Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide. Through her powerful photographs, Iturbide explores themes such as identity, social relations, gender, spirituality, and transience. During a guided tour with a FOMU guide, you’ll delve into the work of this iconic photographer.
Eyes to Fly With is the first major retrospective of the work of renowned Mexican photographer Graciela Iturbide in Belgium. The title of the exhibition, Eyes to Fly With, is inspired by one of Iturbide’s self-portraits and refers to her vision of photography as a means of exploring both oneself and the world. For Iturbide, photography has an emancipatory quality, opening up new perspectives on reality.
In the exhibition, you will discover, among other things, the important societal and economic roles performed by women from the Zapotec community in Oaxaca. Graciela Iturbide breaks with traditional conceptions of gender by placing women at the heart of her work. In the series White Fence, she investigates how identity is a product of factors like ancestry, living conditions and migration, and how communities continue to evolve and adapt over time.
Iturbide depicts rituals, spirituality and the traditions that are a part of daily life – as in La Matanza, with its focus on slaughter and sacrifice, or her work on the Seri people. Also part of the exhibition are her intimate photos of Frida Kahlo's bathroom – sealed off, along with many of the painter's personal belongings, for fifty years after her death – and her rarely exhibited work from India and Bangladesh.
The exhibition has been developed in close consultation with the artist and comprises around 160 works, from iconic black-and-white photographs to rarely seen vintage prints, colour photos and contact prints. Together they offer a unique insight into over half a century of photographic work.
Practical information
- Duration: 90 minutes (1.5 hours)
- Max. 20 people per group
- Two groups can start at a time per time slot.
- Museum admission not included
- Period: from 18.09.2026 to 17.01.2027
What can you expect?
- During a 1.5-hour tour, the guide takes you through Graciela Iturbide’s oeuvre.
- The guide delves deeper into a selection of photographs and highlights the social context of the works.
- The guide will use techniques such as Visual Thinking Strategies to stimulate discussion.
- You will be encouraged to look at the photographs and film images consciously and in depth.
- It is possible to reserve whisper sets (audio amplification) for your tour. Please request this in advance by sending an e-mail to info@fomu.be
