Untitled

Untitled (Collapse of Order, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Loss of Information, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Chaos, Stabilized, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Turbulence, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Uncertainty, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Construction, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Noise, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Fermentation, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Transmutation, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Gestation, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Mediation, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Negociation, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Orderliness, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Chance, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Corruption, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Spectacle, Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (Study for In a Given Situation)
Untitled (9 drawings)
Untitled (Study for Tornado) (39 drawings)

"I read somewhere, I can’t remember where, that concepts are timeless. They are open and therefore permanent and never-ending. They cannot be told, only executed." Francis Alÿs in In a Given Situation, 2010.

In addition to the film Tornado, which is a key work in Francis Alÿs' oeuvre, the KANAL collection also includes two series of studies linked to that work: In a Given Situation, which consists of 19 framed drawings, and Tornado, which comprises 41 drawings and five chromogenic prints.In a Given Situation is a collection of poetic gestures on paper. They depict concepts such as the collapse of order, turbulence, uncertainty, chaos, loss of information, negotiation or spectacle, "in a given situation". The series shows the thought process Francis Alÿs went through when he attempted to capture the experience of stillness or "situatedness" in the heart of a tornado - and by extension the world. He derives the definition of "situatedness" from artist and author Suzanne van der Lingen.

The study series Tornado (2008-2017) traces the emergence of this theme in Francis Alÿs' oeuvre. The drawings provide context for the sociopolitical critiques and commentaries contained in the film and in his work in general.