Francis Alÿs
Back in London we were lucky enough to get to see the amazing Francis Alÿs show at the Tate Modern. Belgian born and living/working in Mexico city his work encompasses many media often involving the participation and presence of himself. These performed events are documented in video, photographs, writing, painting, and animation. In his best-known work, When Faith Moves Mountains (2002), Alÿs recruited 500 volunteers outside of Lima, Peru. Each person moved a shovel full of sand one step at a time from one side of a dune to the other, and together they moved the entire geographical location of the dune by a few inches. But it was two projectors on the floor of the museum showing images of people pulling carts of boxes around the Zócalo and Mexico City that we found most interesting.