Alÿs's walking creates a ground-level image of the city, fragmented, subjective and incomplete. It claims space for the fragile, the ephemeral and the poetic. In a commuter city where pedestrianism fights for survival, 'Seven Walks' transforms increasingly alienating surroundings into a new space tailored to human dimensions. — Coline Milliard, Art Monthly, June 2010
Over five years Francis Alÿs walked the streets of London, mapping its habits and rituals in a range of different media, and the ensuing films, videos, paintings and drawings were presented as Seven Walks at 21 Portman Square in 2005 for the artist’s first major solo exhibition in the UK. Amongst these was A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town, a series of 9 works on paper which documents actions, and offers a thesaurus of alternatives. As a 'repertoire' it is suggestive of the significant breadth of behaviours observed when walking around the city.
Image: Francis Alÿs, A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town, 2005 (detail). © Francis Alÿs
at Art Exchange
Colchester, 30 September - 30 November 2013
In the autumn of 2013, A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town was installed at Art Exchange as part of an exhibition of Francis Alÿs' project Seven Walks. The works in Seven Walks were developed by Alÿs over 5 years, and delved into the everyday rituals and habits of the metropolis. This exhibition at Art Exchange was accompanied by a symposium, which expanded on the themes of Alÿs' explorations of the city, and featured speakers TJ Demos, James Lingwood, Andrés Montenegro, Marina Warner and Richard Wentworth. The discussion was chaired by Dawn Ades.
Image: Installation view of Francis Alÿs, Seven Walks including A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town, 2005 at Art Exchange, 2013. Photograph: Courtesy Art Exchange
at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art
Sunderland, 1 June - 31 August 2013
The collection of 9 works on paper were installed at the Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art as part of the group exhibition 'Walk On'. This exhibition included works by artists from Janet Cardiff to Richard Long and focused on artists’ walks and journeys, both literal and metaphorical, to examine the astonishingly varied ways in which artists since the late 1960s have used what would seem like a universal act – of taking a walk – as a means to create new types of art.
Image: Installation view of Francis Alÿs, A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town, 2005 (detail) at Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, 2013. Photograph: Courtesy Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art
at the Whitworth, The University of Manchester
Manchester, 2 July - 4 September 2011
A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town featured in 'Projections', an exhibition of four moving image projects from The Artangel Collection, shown within the context of the Whitworth Art Gallery, its collection, and the park that it shares with the city of Manchester.
Image: Installation view of Francis Alÿs, Seven Walks including A Personal Repertoire of Possible Behaviour While Walking the Streets in London Town, 2005 at the Whitworth, The University of Manchester, 2011. Photograph: Michael Pollard