Francis Alÿs
A Story of Deception
15 Jul - 05 Sep 2010
A man pushes a massive block of ice through the streets of Mexico City until it melts to nothing. Five hundred volunteers walk over a huge sand dune in Lima, Peru, digging with spades and shifting the dune a few centimetres as they go. These are the works of the celebrated artist Francis Alÿs (born Belgium, 1959), and the subject of a major exhibition at Tate Modern.
Alÿs’s work starts with a simple action, either by him or others, which is then documented in a range of media. Alÿs explores subjects such as modernising programmes in Latin America and border zones in areas of conflict, often asking about the relevance of poetic acts in politicised situations. He has used video projection and film but also spreads his ideas through postcards. Painting and drawing remain central to his work too.
Alÿs moved to Mexico City in the mid 1980s at a time of political unrest, and lives there now. He began to make work which recorded everyday life, for example making slide works showing people sleeping on the streets or pushing mobile shopping stalls. Alÿs also makes works around the world. In The Green Line 2004, Alÿs walked along the 1948 armistice line between Israel and Palestine, trailing a line of green paint behind him, and provoking commentaries on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
This exhibition is his most comprehensive to date. It features many works unseen in Britain, such as When Faith Moves Mountains 2002 as well as premiering the major new work Tornado 2000–10.
Licghtbox
To coincide with the Francis Alÿs exhibition at Tate Modern, Lightbox presents his film Guards 2004, which is in Tate's collection. Guards is one of seven films from the project Seven Walks commissioned by Artangel, a London-based art commissioning agency, in 2005.
The film follows 64 Coldstream Guards walking through the empty streets of the 'Square Mile' of the City of London as they converge together to form one large group. The film explores themes of urbanisation, habit, ritual and mapping.
Francis Alÿs Guards
London 2004–05, 27 minutes video
Francis Alÿs in collaboration with Rafael Ortega and Artangel
64 Coldstream guards enter separately in the City of London, unaware of one another's route.
The guards wander through the City looking for one another.
Upon meeting, they fall into step and march together.
When a square measuring 8 by 8 guards is built, the complete formation marches towards the closest bridge.
As they step on to the bridge, the guards break step and disperse.
These instructions form the basis of the film. This work came out of the earlier Duett 1999 for which Alÿs entered Venice carrying one half of a tuba and walked the labyrinthine city until he met a friend who had been walking around carrying the other half.
Guards extends Alÿs's interests in walking, cities and rhythm and also addresses itself to the particular historical character of London. Guards was filmed from several vantage points, including surveillance cameras and tiny cameras placed inside the soldiers' bearskin hats, and animated by the complex rhythms of their marching.
Alÿs’s work starts with a simple action, either by him or others, which is then documented in a range of media. Alÿs explores subjects such as modernising programmes in Latin America and border zones in areas of conflict, often asking about the relevance of poetic acts in politicised situations. He has used video projection and film but also spreads his ideas through postcards. Painting and drawing remain central to his work too.
Alÿs moved to Mexico City in the mid 1980s at a time of political unrest, and lives there now. He began to make work which recorded everyday life, for example making slide works showing people sleeping on the streets or pushing mobile shopping stalls. Alÿs also makes works around the world. In The Green Line 2004, Alÿs walked along the 1948 armistice line between Israel and Palestine, trailing a line of green paint behind him, and provoking commentaries on the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
This exhibition is his most comprehensive to date. It features many works unseen in Britain, such as When Faith Moves Mountains 2002 as well as premiering the major new work Tornado 2000–10.
Licghtbox
To coincide with the Francis Alÿs exhibition at Tate Modern, Lightbox presents his film Guards 2004, which is in Tate's collection. Guards is one of seven films from the project Seven Walks commissioned by Artangel, a London-based art commissioning agency, in 2005.
The film follows 64 Coldstream Guards walking through the empty streets of the 'Square Mile' of the City of London as they converge together to form one large group. The film explores themes of urbanisation, habit, ritual and mapping.
Francis Alÿs Guards
London 2004–05, 27 minutes video
Francis Alÿs in collaboration with Rafael Ortega and Artangel
64 Coldstream guards enter separately in the City of London, unaware of one another's route.
The guards wander through the City looking for one another.
Upon meeting, they fall into step and march together.
When a square measuring 8 by 8 guards is built, the complete formation marches towards the closest bridge.
As they step on to the bridge, the guards break step and disperse.
These instructions form the basis of the film. This work came out of the earlier Duett 1999 for which Alÿs entered Venice carrying one half of a tuba and walked the labyrinthine city until he met a friend who had been walking around carrying the other half.
Guards extends Alÿs's interests in walking, cities and rhythm and also addresses itself to the particular historical character of London. Guards was filmed from several vantage points, including surveillance cameras and tiny cameras placed inside the soldiers' bearskin hats, and animated by the complex rhythms of their marching.