In the works on view, which collectively present a picture of life in some of the areas that have been most affected by violence and crime, Alÿs does not offer solutions, but rather poses open-ended questions, in particular related to the role of the artist in the time of a national crisis. For example, in the major video installation Paradox of Praxis 5: Sometimes we dream as we live & sometimes we live as we dream, Ciudad Juárez, México (2013), made in collaboration with Julien Devaux, Rafael Ortega, Alejandro Morales, and Félix Blume, Alÿs attempts to enact the aphorism expressed in the work’s title, and in doing so problematizes the idea of trying to create something beautiful in the face of a terrible situation. Here, Alÿs kicks a flaming soccer ball through Ciudad Juárez at night. His path is illuminated only by the light from the fire, which he must strike with his foot in order to proceed. The darkness of the night provides a veil for the city’s ever-present problems, including the sale of drugs, prostitution, and police indifference, which are only momentarily glimpsed along his route. This type of walking comprises an important facet of Alÿs’s practice, the repetitive, meditative action serving as a catalyst for the recognition of deep-rooted issues.
David Zwirner
_
