Francis Alÿs
Children’s Game 2/Ricochets

From installation manual

© Francis Alÿs

Children’s Game 2/Ricochets
From installation manual
ArtistBelgian, born 1959
CultureBelgian
Titles
  • Children’s Game 2/Ricochets
Date2007
Place depictedTangier, Morocco
MediumSingle channel video
Dimensions4 minutes, 43 seconds
Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by the Caroline Wiess Law Accessions Endowment Fund
Object number2016.176.13
Not on view

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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.

provided by lender
Francis Alÿs
2008–2009
Two channel video projection
2016.176.11.A,.B
provided by lender
Francis Alÿs
2008
Two channel video
2016.176.10.A,.B
From installation manual
Francis Alÿs
2006
Single channel video
2016.176.12.1
From installation manual
Francis Alÿs
2007
Two-channel video
2016.176.12.2.A,.B
Don‘t Cross the Bridge before You Get to the River
Francis Alÿs
2005–2009
31 Shoe Boats: sandals, cloth, string, wood, plastic, hammers, and mirror
2016.176.9.1-.31
Untitled (Study for Bridge-Puente)
Francis Alÿs
2005–2006
Oil and encaustic on canvas
2016.176.1
provided by lender
Francis Alÿs
2005–2006
Oil paint and pencil on tracing paper
2016.176.2
provided by lender
Francis Alÿs
2007
Oil paint, masking tape, and pencil on tracing paper
2016.176.3
provided by lender
Francis Alÿs
2005–2009
Oil paint and pencil on tracing paper
2016.176.4
provided by lender
Francis Alÿs
2005–2009
Oil on color photograph, framed
2016.176.6
provided by lender
Francis Alÿs
2005–2009
Oil on color photograph, framed
2016.176.5
Untitled (Study for Don‘t Cross the Bridge before You Get to the River)
Francis Alÿs
2005–2009
Oil on tracing paper on post card, framed
2016.176.8