Francis Alÿs, whose work has been exhibited in the world’s leading art museums including Tate Modern and MoMA, New York, visited Cornwall for the first time. He talked about his work at CAST on Sunday 10 July with Groundwork director Teresa Gleadowe.

Alÿs originally trained as an architect in Belgium, where he was born. He became an artist after moving to Mexico City in the mid-1980s. His projects include public actions, installations, video, paintings and drawings and he often starts with a simple action, either by himself or others, that can be documented in a number of ways.

Groundwork presented the first UK exhibition of The Silence of Ani, originally commissioned for the Istanbul Biennial. Shot on location around the ruined ancient Armenian city of Ani, near the border with Turkey, The Silence of Ani captures the quiet of a ruined city, broken only by birdsong. The film was accompanied by an exhibition of bird calls from the artist’s collection.