This catalogue is published on the occasion of 'I'm Not Here. An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs', an exhibition held at de Appel Boys' School from 17 April to 6 June 2010 and curated by the participants of de Appel Curatorial Programme 2009/2010. The title is inspired by I’m Not There (2007), a biographical film directed by Todd Haynes about the iconic American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Six actors depict different facets of Dylan's life and his public persona while Dylan himself is absent from the film. In reference to this, 'I'm Not Here. An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs' is a solo exhibition that takes the form of a group exhibition in which works by the contributing artists evoke the atmosphere of the work of an absent Francis Alÿs.

As a Belgian artist who moved to Mexico City in 1986, Alÿs makes specific use of ‘rumors’ and ‘hearsay’, oral history, witness reports and memories to distribute his actions after they have taken place. To radicalize the conviction that one can engage with Alÿs’ work without having seen it, the curators decided to withhold his works from the present exhibition. By shifting the spotlight from a well-established artist such as Alÿs to other potentially related artistic practices, the exhibition redistributes agency to all of the participating artists and engenders a critical interrogation of the format of a solo retrospective. Through an encounter with the artworks in the exhibition, 'I'm Not Here. An Exhibition Without Francis Alÿs' invites the audience to think about Alÿs and challenge the privileging of presence over absence.

Participating artists: Mounira Al Solh, Vaast Colson, Luisa Cunha, Grier Edmundson, André Guedes, Gustav Metzger, Tatiana Mesa, Roman Ondak, Pak Sheung Chuen, Wilfredo Prieto, Ariel Schlesinger, David Sherry, Stefan Brüggemann, Noa Giniger

Includes contributions by Pak Sheung Chuen and texts by Emily Highfield, Jan Verwoert and the curators. With artist biographies.