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The Art Gallery of Alberta respectfully acknowledges that we are located in Treaty 6 Territory and Region 4 of the Metis Nation of Alberta. We respect this as the traditional and contemporary  land of diverse Indigenous Peoples including the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Beaver Cree, Nitsitapi/Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Anishinaabe/Saulteaux/Ojibwe and Dene Peoples. We also acknowledge the many Indigenous, Inuit and Métis people who make Alberta their home today.

Fischli and Weiss / Ibghy and Lemmens

Fischli and Weiss / Lbghy and Lemmens title treatment
#AGAinspired

In 1987, Fischli and Weiss created a 100-foot long chain reaction masterwork of cause and effect, precision and technical finesse. In 2012, Ibghy and Lemmens documented a laborious process of assembling, stacking and attempting to balance mundane office equipment. These two films tell two sides of a story–of human ingenuity, industry, and aspiration—and our obsession with success and the inevitability of failure.

Curator’s statement

In 1987, the Swiss artist duo Peter Fischli and David Weiss created a moving image work, which quickly became an international sensation. Entitled “The Way Things Go,” this 30-minute video tracks a 100-foot long chain reaction created of common household objects that are set in motion by the effects of fire, water, air and chemical reaction. The Ways Things Go is a masterwork of cause and effect, precision and technical finesse.

In 2012, Canadian artists Richard Ibghy and Marilou Lemmens created the work “Real failure needs no excuse,” shot in an unoccupied office building in Glasgow. Using the mundane office detritus left behind by previous tenants, Lemmens engages in a laborious process of assembling, stacking and attempting to balance an assortment of objects, building temporary structures and compositions that become increasingly precarious as they approach their ultimate collapse.

This exhibition brings together these two moving images works, created decades apart, that seem to tell two sides of a story—a story of human ingenuity, industry, and aspiration—as well as our enthralment with success and the inevitability of failure.

Hours

Monday: closed
Tuesday: closed
Wednesday: 11am-5pm
Thursday: 11am-7pm
Friday: 11am-5pm
Saturday: 11am-5pm
Sunday: 11am-5pm

Admission

* Restrictions apply. Please see our Hours and Admissions page.

AGA members
$Free
Youth 0-17
$Free
Alberta students 18+
$Free
Out-of-province students
$10
General admission
$14
Seniors 65+
$10

Location

2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta
Canada T5J 2C1

780.422.6223
info@youraga.ca

Directions

The Art Gallery of Alberta respectfully acknowledges that we are located in Treaty 6 Territory and Region 4 of the Metis Nation of Alberta. We respect this as the traditional and contemporary  land of diverse Indigenous Peoples including the Plains Cree, Woodland Cree, Beaver Cree, Nitsitapi/Blackfoot, Métis, Nakota Sioux, Anishinaabe/Saulteaux/Ojibwe and Dene Peoples. We also acknowledge the many Indigenous, Inuit and Métis people who make Alberta their home today.