Time Is a Trick of the Mind

Francis Alys walks, and as he walks, he makes art. This exhibition catalog/flip book recreates Alys's current piece, documenting a specific moment in Frankfurt, when he walks by a long metal fence and runs a stick along its posts, though there is no sound. Alys reflects on the role of laughter and trickery in the creative process. In further pieces, he walks through Havana (wearing magnetic shoes), Mexico City (carrying a loaded gun through the streets until arrested) and Copenhagen (wandering through the town on drugs). His actions leave few traces and as a rule are not well documented but later reconstructed through installations of his paintings, drawings and videos.