Francis Alÿs
Don‘t Cross the Bridge before You Get to the River

provided by lender

© Francis Alÿs

Don‘t Cross the Bridge before You Get to the River
provided by lender
ArtistBelgian, born 1959
CultureBelgian
Titles
  • Don‘t Cross the Bridge before You Get to the River
Date2008–2009
MediumTwo channel video projection
Dimensions7 minutes, 46 seconds
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number2016.176.11.A,.B
Non exposé

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Object Type
Description

Francis Alÿs devoted four years to Don‘t Cross the Bridge before You Get to the River, a project that
took place both in the sphere of world politics and in gallery environments as
a multi-media installation that encompassed painting, drawing, sculpture, and
video. Initially conceived as a means of connecting Cuba with Key West
in the United States,
Don‘t Cross the
Bridge before You Get to the River
had a second life in the Strait of
Gibraltar as Alÿs attempted to build alliances that would represent the common
humanity of Europe and Africa.



Alÿs stated: “I wanted to construct an authentic image of
the place, a symbolic bridge between the two continents, but always ended up
involved in someone else’s fight. It was absurd.”
Ultimately faced with the
impossibility of realizing the work with actual boats, Alÿs invited children to
form a line at each end of the strait with toy boats, bringing the project back
to the open-hearted spirit of collaboration that first motivated Alÿs.




ProvenanceThe artist; [Galerie Peter Kilchmann, Zürich]; purchased by MFAH, 2016.
Exhibition HistorySelected Solo Exhibitions with work from this series:

"Francis Alÿs: Relato de una negociación/A Story of Negotiation," Mexico City: Museo Tamayo Arte Contemporáneo, March 26 – August 16, 2015; traveling to MALBA, Buenos Aires; Museo Nacional de Bella Artes, Havana; Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto.

"Francis Alÿs: Gibraltar Focus," Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, June 29 – September 8, 2013.

"Francis Alÿs: A Story of Deception," Tate Modern, London, June 15 – September 5, 2010; traveling to WIELS Contemporary Art Center, Brussels, and the Museum of Modern Art, New York.


Selected Group Exhibitions with work from this series:

"Marrakesh Biennial: A Proposal for Articulating Works and Places," November 20, 2009 – January 20, 2010; traveling to Sant’ Anna, Italy: Palazzo Riso, Museo d’Arte Contemporanea della Sicilia.

"Sharjah Biennial," Sharjah, UAE: Sharjah Art Foundation, March 13 – May 13, 2013.

"Atopolis, Mons," Manège de Sury, Belgium, June 13 – October 8, 2015.

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

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