When faith moves mountains | Francis Alÿs | Socks Studio
For his 2002 “When faith moves mountains” he literally transformed a common figure of speech into an action piece. In the mountains just outside Lima, Peru, Alÿs asked 500 volunteers to walk in a line and use a shovel to move the sand dune 10 centimeters from its original position. The work might be considered a social commentary on the shifting of the country from Fujimori’s dictatorship to democracy and a deeper questioning about the effective role of mass movements of people in causing such shiftings. Furthermore it might be seen as a cynical reading of the artist on the act of “believing” and the absurdity it entails: the effort sustained by the volunteers only produces a small change, which is invisible and unmesurable.
Tying together political and religious faith, Alÿs’ work embodies a cynical questioning of the power of art to be a political or even a revolutionary act.
SoP | Scale of Environments
“Cuando la fe mueve montañas”. Increíble transformación del paisaje en el sentido más literal. El poder de la unión entre personas como motor, no social, si no natural.