Francis Alÿs |
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De Mexicaanse Belg Francis Alÿs werd midden jaren 1990 bekend met kleine schilderijen die
heel wat mensen aan het werk van René Magritte herinnerden. Alÿs ontwikkelde zich in
tussentijd tot een kunstenaar van wereldformaat die met heel gerichte acties onze samenleving, en
de plaats die kunst daarin inneemt weet in vraag te stellen. ‘Re-enactments’ is de
registratie van een actie die Alÿs in 2000 uitvoerde in de straten van Mexico City. Het opzet
van ‘Re-enactements’ was: walk for as long as you can holding a 9mm Beretta in your
right hand. Alÿs kocht een 9mm pistool en wandelde ermee door de straten tot hij door de politie
werd gearresteerd. De actie werd vervolgens overgedaan met de toestemming van de politie. Alÿs
viseert met ‘Re-enactments’ niet alleen het onderscheid tussen realiteit en fictie.
‘Re-enactments’ bewandelt vooral de dunne scheidingslijn tussen sociale controle,
veiligheid en het potentieel verlies aan controle.
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During the mid nineties Francis Alÿs (Mexico/Belgium) became known for his little paintings who
reminded a lot of people of the works of René Magritte. Meanwhile Alÿs has evolved to a
worldclass artist being able to question society and the place of art therein by some very pointed actions.
“Re-enactments” is the registration of one such actions that Alÿs undertook in 2000 on
the streets of Mexico City. The aim of “Re-enacments” was: walk for as long as you can holding
a 9mm Beretta in your right hand. Alÿs bought a 9mm pistol and walked around with it until he got
arrested by the police. Afterwards the action is repeated with consent from the police.
With “Re-enactments” Alÿs doesn’t only question reality and fiction, but he
primarily points out the thin line separating social control, security and the potential loss of control. Alÿs’ working ground is the streets and most specifically the streets of Mexico City where he resides for quite some time now. For “the Paradox of Praxis” Alÿs pushed a block of ice around the barrios of Mexico until it was fully molten away. Sometimes an activity doesn’t lead to a productive result or even to no result at all.
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