Francis Alÿs

Francis Alÿs (born 22 August 1959, Antwerp ) is a Belgian-born, Mexico-based artist. He works across art, architecture, and social practice. In 1986, Alÿs left behind his profession as an architect and relocated to Mexico City, where he lives and works.

He has created artwork and performance art that explore urban tensions and geopolitics. Employing a range of media, from painting to performance, his works examine the tension between politics and poetics, individual action and impotence. Alÿs carries out paseos — walks that resist the subjection of common space.

Cyclical repetition and mechanics of progression and regression also inform the character of Alÿs' actions and mythology — Alÿs contrasts geological and technological time through land-based and social practice that examine individual memory and collective mythology. Alÿs frequently uses rumor as a central tool in his practice, disseminating ephemeral, practice-based works through word-of-mouth and storytelling. He has documented children's games for decades.