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Francis Alÿs

FRANCIS ALŸS

Ricochets Barbican 27 June–1 September 2024 London
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Press Release

A new immersive exhibition celebrating the universality and ingenuity of play: Ricochets is the largest institutional show in the UK by internationally renowned artist Francis Alÿs in almost 15 years.

For the past two decades, Alÿs has travelled around the world to film the critically acclaimed series Children’s Games: from ‘musical chairs’ in Mexico, to ‘leapfrog’ in Iraq, ‘jump rope’ in Hong Kong, and ‘wolf and lamb’ in Afghanistan.

Ricochets transforms our gallery into a cinematic playground: throughout the exhibition, visitors will be immersed in multi-screen film installations focussing on children’s games. Since 1999, Alÿs has recorded children at play in different contexts and environments around the globe. Alongside the first presentation of Children’s Games in the UK, the exhibition debuts a new body of animated films depicting both traditional and lesser-known hand games played by children and adults alike.

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Installation Views

Francis Alÿs (2023). Barbican, London. © Louise Yeowart, Barbican Art Gallery.
Francis Alÿs' Playground Takeover at Barbican Opinion Francis Alÿs' Playground Takeover at Barbican The Mexico‑based artist has spent the past two decades documenting children at play around the world. This summer, the Barbican hosts the artist’s largest U.K. survey, ‘Ricochets’. Read the story
About the Artist

Francis Alÿs is a Belgium-born conceptual artist whose interdisciplinary practice examines the geopolitical and social conflicts embedded in the urban environment. His multi-faceted projects include performative gestures, video, installation, painting, and drawing, with which he stages poetic and playful actions to reveal the bifurcation of individual memory and collective mythology within politicised terrains.

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Also Exhibiting at Barbican

All Exhibitions
Liam Young
LIAM YOUNG In Other Worlds Barbican 21 May–6 September 2026 London
Group Exhibition
GROUP EXHIBITION Project a Black Planet: The Art and Culture of Panafrica Barbican 11 June–6 September 2026 London
Yuko Mohri Barbican 1 October 2026–24 January 2027 London
Robert Ryman
ROBERT RYMAN The Real Thing Barbican 8 October 2026–28 February 2027 London
About the Gallery

The Barbican is a world-renowned arts and learning hub in the City of London, celebrated for its striking Brutalist architecture and multidisciplinary programming. Opened in 1982 as part of the larger Barbican Estate, it has become a cultural landmark, bringing together visual arts, music, theatre, dance, film, and education under one roof.

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Address
Silk Street
London
United Kingdom
Opening Hours
Monday – Sunday, 9.30am – 11pm
Bank Holidays, 12 – 11pm
(1)
London Barbican Centre, Silk Street
Barbican contemporary art institution in London United Kingdom
Barbican
Silk Street, London, United Kingdom
http://www.barbican.org.uk

Opening hours
Monday – Sunday, 9.30am – 11pm
Bank Holidays, 12 – 11pm
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