In the performance ‘When Faith Moves Mountains’, Francis Alÿs and five hundred Peruvian volunteers tried to do the impossible: move a mountain 10 cm. The performance took place on a massive dune on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, in the context of the Third Ibero-American Biennial. It was Land Art realized through the joint efforts of ordinary people. Demonstrating a ridiculous disproportion between an effort and its effect, the work is a metaphor for Latin American society, in which minimal reforms are achieved through massive collective efforts. At the same time, it was meant to be a sign of hope in a country in a political crisis.  

Francis Alÿs describes the action as a biblical image: ‘I don’t know if the dune has really moved, but something happened in those four hours that we stood there digging under a leaden sun. The people climbed the hill and scooped sand. Something happened that is beyond your comprehension, it was a small miracle. It had something symbolic and something very real at the same time.’ 

The works of Francis Alÿs often begin as simple actions performed by himself or commissioned volunteers, which are recorded in photographs, film, postcards, etc. The artist calls these actions ‘fables’ or ‘stories’. They are characterized by an irrational element and humour. Alÿs wants to open up the possibility for his audience to think differently, without imposing comments, solutions, or judgments. ‘Sometimes making something leads to nothing, sometimes making nothing leads to something.’ 

Born in Antwerp, Belgium, Alÿs originally trained as an architect. He moved to Mexico City in 1986, where he continues to live and work, and it was the confrontation with issues of urbanization and social unrest in his new country of adoption that inspired his decision to become a visual artist. Since 2004, the artist’s work has been represented by David Zwirner, where he has had two solo exhibitions at the gallery’s New York location in 2007 and 2013. In 2016, Ciudad Juárez projects marked his first solo presentation at David Zwirner, London, and in 2021, the solo exhibition Don’t Cross the Bridge Before You Get to the River was on view at the gallery’s Paris location.

Alÿs was the recipient of the 2023 Wolfgang Hahn Prize, awarded by the Museum Ludwig, Cologne, and he will receive a solo exhibition at the museum in November 2023. Francis Alÿs: Children’s Games, 1999-2022, was on view at the Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, earlier in the same year. A solo exhibition of the artist’s work was on view at Copenhagen Contemporary from 2022 to 2023.