The participants of de Appel Curatorial Programme ’09/’10 present the exhibition “I'm Not Here. An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs”. The title is inspired by “I’m Not There” (2007) a biographical film directed by Todd Haynes about the iconic American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's life and his public persona while Dylan himself is absent from the film. In reference to this, “I’m Not Here. An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs” is a solo exhibition that takes the form of a group exhibition in which works by the contributing artists evoke the atmosphere of the work of an absent Francis Alÿs.
As a Belgian artist who moved to Mexico City in 1986, Alÿs makes specific use of ‘rumors’ and ‘hearsay’, oral history, witness reports and memories to distribute his actions after they have taken place. We as curators believe that one can engage with Alÿs’ work without having seen it. In order to radicalize this conviction, we have decided to withhold his works from our exhibition. By shifting the spotlight from a well-established artist such as Alÿs to other artistic practices, the exhibition redistributes agency to all of the participating artists and engender a critical interrogation of the format of a solo retrospective. Through an encounter with the artworks in the exhibition, “I’m Not Here. An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs” invites the audience to think about Alÿs and challenge the privileging of presence over absence.
Participating artists
Mounira Al Solh (LB/NL), Vaast Colson (BE), Luisa Cunha (PT), Grier Edmundson (USA/UK), André Guedes (PT), Gustav Metzger (UK), Tatiana Mesa (CU), Roman Ondak (SK), Pak Sheung Chuen (HK/CN), Wilfredo Prieto (CU), Ariel Schlesinger (IL), David Sherry (UK), Stefan Brüggemann (MX/UK,)Noa Giniger (IL/NL)
Curated by de Appel Curatorial Programme ’09/’10
Nikita, Yingqian Cai (CN), Alhena Katsof (CA), Direlia Lazo (CU), Yael Messer (IL), Alan Quireyns (BE) and Luis Silva (PT)
Opening
16 April, 6-10 pm
Guided Tours
17 April (English); 24 April (Dutch); 1 May (Portuguese); 8 May (Hebrew); 15 May (Spanish); 22 May (Chinese)