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Francis Alÿs — Déjà-vu (Clock)
Francis Alÿs

Déjà-vu (Clock)

2004

Two nearly identical painted panels depict a solitary figure traversing a vast, hazy landscape, their repeated presence evoking a sense of temporal looping and uncanny familiarity. Embedded within the canvas, a functioning clock disrupts the stillness of the painted surface, merging the passage of real time with the cyclical nature of memory and perception. Through the tension between oil and encaustic's layered, dreamlike surfaces and the mechanical tick of the clock, Alÿs meditates on the disorienting experience of reliving a moment that may never have occurred.

Medium
oil, encaustic and clock on canvas, diptych
Dimensions

Notes

Execution: Executed in 2004.

🔨 Auction Lot

Modern & Contemporary Art: Evening & Day Sale

June 27, 2002

Estimate: $50,000$70,000

Sold: $165,100

Lot 42

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About this work

Francis Alÿs, Déjà-vu (Clock), 2004

Two nearly identical painted panels depict a solitary figure traversing a vast, hazy landscape, their repeated presence evoking a sense of temporal looping and uncanny familiarity. Embedded within the canvas, a functioning clock disrupts the stillness of the painted surface, merging the passage of real time with the cyclical nature of memory and perception. Through the tension between oil and encaustic's layered, dreamlike surfaces and the mechanical tick of the clock, Alÿs meditates on the disorienting experience of reliving a moment that may never have occurred.

Medium
oil, encaustic and clock on canvas, diptych
Dimensions
20.2 x 13.9 cm
Year
2004
Seen at
Phillips, New York, London, Hong Kong

Related themes

Figurative Painting, Belgian Artist, Male Artist, Mixed Media, Conceptual Art, Contemporary Artist, Oil Painting, Time Motif, Encaustic, Diptych Format

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