David Zwirner gallery, London, will be hosting Ciudad Ju谩rez projects, an exhibition of recent works by Francis Al每s. Over the past three decades, Al每s has become known for his multifaceted practice, which encompasses public actions, installations, videos, paintings, and drawings. Works between 2010 and 2015 feature scenery from 听Ciudad Ju谩rez, Mexico, once known for its prosperity until the recent social decline due to drug-related violence.
With an imaginative sensibility towards听geopolitical concerns and engagements with everyday life, the artist offers open-ended questions to the viewer about violence and crime in contemporary culture. Operating as an artist during a time of national crisis,听Al每s references his role within society, touching on controversial cultural themes about recording the world as a voyeur, with an artistic intention.
The major video installation Paradox of Praxis 5: Sometimes we dream as we live & sometimes we live as we dream, Ciudad Ju谩rez, M茅xico (2013), made in collaboration with Julien Devaux, Rafael Ortega, Alejandro Morales, and F茅lix Blume, attempts to further this idea; the problematic notion of trying to create something beautiful, or aesthetically pleasing, from a disastrous situation. In doing so, the artist questions whether it can or should be done.
In the video Al每s kicks a flaming soccer ball through Ciudad Ju谩rez at night, the only light to guide him through the fire, which he needs to kick in order to see his way. 听Darkness, in this case, is a veil for the activities of humans, and the problems that they pose under the blanket of anonymity, of secrecy. Furthermore, the act of walking as a repetitive, meditative process, catalyses a recognition of social issues.
Also on view will be a group of related paintings and drawings, including a diagrammatic rendering of Ciudad Ju谩rez鈥檚 interrelated problems and aspirations; as well as a painting related to Al每s鈥檚 ongoing Linchados(Lynchings) series, allegorical scenes which place the artist in the role of witness to violent acts.
听Ciudad Ju谩rez projects, runs until 5 August at David Zwirner, London.
Credit:
1. 听Francis Al每s in collaboration with Julien Devaux, Rafael Ortega, Alejandro Morales, and F茅lix Blume听Paradox of Praxis 5: Sometimes we dream as we live & sometimes we live as we dream听Ciudad Ju谩rez, M茅xico, 2013 (detail of video still).听Video, 7:49 minutes, color, sound.听Courtesy David Zwirner, New York/London
