Children’s Game #42: Tenebom

Directed by Francis Alÿs

The name of the game comes from the Spanish “tenedor,” fork, but its other name, “Come fango, Eat Mud,” seems more apt as we watch a silvery fork, its tines reduced to one sharp prong, piercing the earth again and again. Eight actions must be carried out in order; the first two recall knucklebones and the last, a smooth throw from seven paces back, is more like darts. In between, impossible flips and somersaults are performed by the tiny diver in the restricted space between fingers and hollow in the ground. At one point a younger boy mimes each movement in sync with the player, from behind, in a fascinated trance.