Five hundred volunteers with shovels gathered at a huge sand dune on the outskirts of Lima, Peru, and over the course of a day moved it by several inches. Alÿs developed the idea after first visiting Lima in October 2000. The political context was inescapable: “This was during the last months of the Fujimori dictatorship. Lima was in turmoil with clashes on the streets, obvious social tension and an emerging movement of resistance.
What is Francis Alÿs known for?
Francis Alÿs is known for using poetic and metaphorical techniques to highlight the political and social realities of his city. Often, the issues he addresses range from national border politics to globalism and areas of conflict in his community and the effects of modernism.
In many of his works, the Belgian-Mexican conceptual and performance provocateur Francis Alÿs questions the relationship between action, effort, and outcome. His works tend to inspire one toward a blurring of lines between the actions done in artistic expression and those in social response, making the viewer question the value and effect of the toil.