News

​Private View: Francis Alÿs

The Belgian artist brings his Children’s Games to London’s Barbican for an immersive celebration of the universal ingenuity of play

Since 1999, Belgian artist Francis Alÿs has engaged with the universality of play while travelling the world, documenting the ingenuity of children’s games across different global contexts. Illuminating the limitlessness of children’s imaginations – transcending war and challenging circumstances – the games become intimate portraits of childhood against varied socio-political landscapes, with play as an invisible thread.

From ‘musical chairs’ in Mexico, to ‘leapfrog’ in Iraq, ‘jump rope’ in Hong Kong, and ‘wolf and lamb’ in Afghanistan, Alÿs’ decades spanning Children’s Games project becomes the center of Francis Alÿs: Ricochets – an immersive exhibition that turns London’s Barbican into a cinematic playground. In the first presentation of the video works in the UK, multi-screen installations construct a dialogue between distinct and distant regions, alongside a new body of animated films, depicting the simple gestures of hand games.

For a film by Catherine Hyland, created with the Barbican, Alÿs explores how games and creativity enable children to interact with their environments – while creating distance from nuances beyond their understanding. By triggering memories and establishing a commonality among viewers, Alÿs expands on the power of play as an invitation to enter a new dimension, and a means of escape from the conflicts that permeate the adult world. 

Francis Alÿs: Ricochets is on display at the Barbican Art Gallery until 1 September 2024.

Autour du Monde

La traversée des images, d’Albert Kahn à Curiosity

Boulogne-Billancourt, France, March 12 to November 13, 2022.

Thursday October 7th 2021

We will be bringing some of the stories in the issue to life on the night, with a photography exhibition of Catherine Hyland’s landscapes exploring identity and place in the UK, a showcase of quilts made by Arrange Whatever Pieces Come Your Way, and scents from Cremate London. Plus, Max Rocha's Café Cecilia will be serving canapés, and our bar menu has been specially put together by our friends at Top Cuvée.

The Modern House
St. Alphege Hall, King's Bench St
London SE1 0QX

Glasgow

Many Studios

5th–6th June 2021

Part of the Architecture Fringe Programme

London

Bermondsey Project Space

22nd–26th June 2021

Part of The London Festival of Architecture

Curated by Francisco Ibáñez Hantke and Luke O’Donovan

‘Power Structures’ focuses on the ways in which socioeconomic and political structures shape the built environment. Featuring both emerging and established artists from around the world, whose work draws upon the changing power dynamics within global society, and the challenges faced as humans strike a balance between care for, and control over, the natural environment. Together the works provide an international perspective on some of the defining issues of our time, and the role that architecture can play in forming the power structures of the future.

Les Mesnographies du 11 au 26 septembre 2021, dans le parc des Mesnuls 78490.

Focal Point Gallery (FPG) is celebrating its 30th anniversary year. Since 1990, the gallery has presented a critically acclaimed programme of local, national and international artists. In a light-hearted acknowledegment to each individual, FPG invited every artist who has worked with them to contribute a self-portrait for a commemorative tea towel. Many responded and the gallery is delighted to be launching Edition #100 of FPG’s celebrated Printed Matter collection.

https://www.fpg.org.uk/