Fridge-Freezer

2015 - Film & Video (Film & Video)

9:01 minutes

Yoshua Okón

year born: 1970
gender: male
nationality: Mexican
home town: Mexico City, Mexico

Fridge-Freezer is a 2-channel video installation where Yoshua Okón explores the darker side of suburbia, d escribed by the artist as “ the ideal environment for a numb existence of passive consumerism and social a nd environmental disengagement. ” Filmed at display homes in the suburbs of Manchester in the United Kingdom, the video features real-estate agents clad in bright-red blazers enthusiastically describing features of the ‘dream home’ as they walk through different rooms. A couple of additional elements, a couch and neutral soft carpet, recreate the domestic setting and immerse the viewer in the unfolding scenes. As the video progresses, the real-estate agents are seen between showings in moments of crisis and panic, breathing heavily or completely melting down. Fridge-Freezer portrays the illusion of safety and prosperity that suburbia provides , and most importantly, the alienation and its side effects , which remain hidden underneath the pristine surfaces of the perfect home .


Working primarily in video, Okón combines the genre of do cumentary with performative elements that together blur the boundary between reality and fiction. His video installations capture improvisational narratives created by the artist and his collaborators—performers willing to participate in a game of social chance that may easily spiral out of control. In them, t he camera acts as a catalyst that unleashes his subjects , empowering them to act out an assumed character and in the process revealing thei r own awareness and perceptions. Characterized by their uncomfortable, somber nature these works deliberately provoke viewers through confrontational humor as a way to achieve catharsis . His videos are used as a device to implicate audiences and also activate them as a participant, pressuring them to consider questions of social conduct and personal behavior within the context of the authoritative nation-state, and to question their own attitudes towards power, ethics, and prejudice vis -á- vis class, status, and marginality. Described by Okón as near-sociological experiments, his works give the audience a unique insight into the subjects he portrays. Most importantly, they also evoke a sense of interconnectivity: deeply implicating us in issues that we may normally consider foreign or removed from our everyday lives.


Colors:



Related works featuring themes of: » Contemporary Conceptualism, » Cultural Commentary, » Film/Video, » Mexico, » Mexican  
» see more

Wright Imperial Hotel
© » KADIST

Abraham Cruzvillegas

2004

Wright Imperial Hotel (2004) is a sort of bow and arrow made out of feathers, a São Paulo phone book, and other materials...

Shasta
© » KADIST

Diego Rivera

1940

In 1940 Rivera came to San Francisco for what would be his last mural project in the city, Pan-American Unity ...

“Brave Beauties” series - Eva Mofokeng I, Parktown, Johannesburg
© » KADIST

Zanele Muholi

2014

As a visual activist for the rights of Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LBGTQI), Muholi’s photographs radically transgress the conventional perception of lesbian and transgender communities in South Africa...

Other related works, blended automatically  
» see more

Canned Laughter
© » KADIST

Yoshua Okón

2009

Canned Laughter was Okón’s response to an invitation from Ciudad Juárez , Mexico, where artists were asked to create works based on their experience of the city...

Wright Imperial Hotel
© » KADIST

Abraham Cruzvillegas

2004

Wright Imperial Hotel (2004) is a sort of bow and arrow made out of feathers, a São Paulo phone book, and other materials...

Until It Makes Sense
© » KADIST

Mario Garcia Torres

2004

Mario Garcia Torres imagines cinematic devices to replay stories occasionally forgotten by Conceptual art...

Related works sharing similar palette  
» see more

What We Lose When Curating Follows the Money
© » HYPERALLERGIC

What We Lose When Curating Follows the Money Skip to content Gerhard Richter, "Tante Marianne" (1965), oil on canvas (all photos Olivia McEwan/ Hyperallergic ) LONDON — Something feels off from the introductory lines of the exhibition booklet for Tate Modern’s Capturing the Moment ...

Restaurant Tramo in Madrid embraces a more responsible future, bite by bite
© » WALLPAPER*

Restaurant Tramo embraces a responsible future, bite by bite | Wallpaper (Image credit: Photography by Juan Baraja...

How an Art Foundation Made the Difficult Decision to Sell Its Collection - via Artsy
© » LARRY'S LIST

Before it decided to sell the majority of its collection, California’s di Rosa Foundation explored the exact alternative critics of its decision have suggested....

The Top Art Exhibitions of 2023
© » ART & OBJECT

The Top Art Exhibitions of 2023 | Art & Object Skip to main content Subscribe to our free e-letter! Webform Your Email Address Role Art Collector/Enthusiast Artist Art World Professional Academic Country USA Afghanistan Albania Algeria American Samoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antarctica Antigua & Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Ascension Island Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Bouvet Island Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Canary Islands Cape Verde Caribbean Netherlands Cayman Islands Central African Republic Ceuta & Melilla Chad Chile China Christmas Island Clipperton Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Colombia Comoros Congo - Brazzaville Congo - Kinshasa Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Curaçao Cyprus Czechia Côte d’Ivoire Denmark Diego Garcia Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Falkland Islands Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia French Southern Territories Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guernsey Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Heard & McDonald Islands Honduras Hong Kong SAR China Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Isle of Man Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jersey Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macao SAR China Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar (Burma) Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands North Korea North Macedonia Norway Oman Outlying Oceania Pakistan Palau Palestinian Territories Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Pitcairn Islands Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Réunion Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Sint Maarten Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands South Korea South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka St...

Other works by: » Yoshua Okón  
» see more

Canned Laughter
© » KADIST

Yoshua Okón

2009

Canned Laughter was Okón’s response to an invitation from Ciudad Juárez , Mexico, where artists were asked to create works based on their experience of the city...

Swimming in Rivers of Glue
© » KADIST

Julieta Aranda

2016

The video Swimming in rivers of Glue is composed of various images of nature, exploring the themes of exploration of space and its colonization...

AUTOTROFIA
© » KADIST

Anton Vidokle

2020

Shot in Oliveto Lucano, a village in the south of Italy, AUTOTROFIA (meaning self-eating) by artist Anton Vidokle is a cinéma vérité style film that slides fictive characters into real situations, and vice-versa, to draw a prolonged meditation on the cycle of life, seasonal renewal, and ecological awareness...

Message to the Extraterrestials
© » KADIST

Christoph Keller

2007

Message to the Extraterrestrials consists of a slide projector beaming images into the side of the telescope...

Related works found in the same semantic group  
» see more

Global Generations
© » KADIST

Join us Saturday evening for a special preview of short videos, culminating with the presentation of Dana Levy’s short documentary This Was Home (2016) followed by a discussion with Levy, and Lives Between co-curators Sergio Edelsztein and Joseph del Pesco...

Los rastreadores
© » KADIST

Claudia Joskowicz

2014

Los rastreadores is a two-channel video by Claudia Joskowicz narrating the story of a fictitious drug lord, Ernesto Suarez, whose character is based on the well-known Bolivian drug dealer, Roberto Suárez...

Recollecting Memories
© » KADIST

Hitesh Vaidya

2022

In the process of creating this deeply personal body of work, titled Recollecting Memories , artist Hitesh Vaidya repeatedly visited the site of his ancestral home that was destroyed during the devastating earthquakes in Nepal in 2015...

UK News - latest breaking news and headlines by The Independent | The Independent
© » THE INDEPENDENT

UK News - latest breaking news and headlines by The Independent Home News Home News Will there be a White Christmas this year? Home News Teacher sacked after video shows horse being kicked and slapped Home News Doctors who mourned Covid dead on day of No 10 ‘party’ hit out at PM Home News London’s NYE celebration in Trafalgar Square shelved amid Covid surge Home News Queen cancels Christmas at Sandringham over Covid safety Home News Met Police officer keeps job after breaching confidentiality Home News Driver crashes into Sainsbury’s window and ends up in pet food aisle UK Politics UK’s new Brexit negotiator said Britain would be worse off outside EU Americas Quidditch to change name to distance itself from JK Rowling Home News Ethnic minorities disproportionately impacted by Covid lockdowns Home News Covid cases surge in UK as 91,743 new cases reported Home News Should the UK be put into lockdown? Tell us in our poll Home News Rachel Riley awarded £10,000 damages after suing former Corbyn aide Crime Priti Patel urges police to act over ‘sickening’ Piers Corbyn comments Home News M60 re-opened after six injured in serious crash near Manchester Home News Woman who has lived in UK for years denied EU settled status Home News Covid: 82,886 test positive for virus in UK in past 24 hrs UK Politics Tory MP Jamie Wallis arrested after late-night crash Home News Five ‘pristine’ ice-age mammoth skeletons unearthed in the Cotswolds Home News Covid: UK cases surge as 12,133 additional Omicron cases confirmed UK Politics Lord Frost resigns from government in fresh crisis for Boris Johnson Home News Rise in women wrongly denied maternity pay since pandemic Home News Acclaimed architect Lord Rogers dies aged 88 Home News Vaccine supporters to hand out leaflets to boost jab take-up UK Politics Lord Frost: Brexit negotiator and right-hand man to Boris Johnson UK Politics Labour rips into ‘dysfunctional’ No 10 over Christmas party probe Home News Covid: UK records 90,418 new cases in 24 hours Home News Anti-lockdown protest turns violent Crime Met PC sacked for racial slur found during murder photos investigation Home News Chagos islanders fight for passports 50 years after British eviction UK Politics Sleaze, shoe leather and stately homes: how North Shropshire was won UK Politics Johnson faces ‘dangerous moment’ after by-election catastrophe Home News London Tube Strike today: What lines are affected? Home News Dead turkeys found among living at farm linked to supermarkets Home News ‘Omicron surge to make government miss Covid booster jab target’ Home News New charity watchdog head quits over ‘inappropriate behaviour’ claim Home News EU nationals kept in dark by DWP over suspended benefits, charity says Health Covid cases surge to new record as Johnson issues Omicron warning Home News Hermes delivery staff filmed throwing parcels against wall Politics Civil servant probing No 10 party claims ‘attended Christmas drinks’ Home News Food banks see drop in donations despite fearing busiest Christmas yet UK Politics Inside North Shropshire by-election count that saw historic Tory loss Home News Our duty to help young people, says charity boss backing our campaign Home News How does 3.8% train fare rise compare with previous years? Home News Windrush members’ human rights breached by Home Office, says court Home News RAF jet shoots down ‘hostile drone’ in Syria Home News Home Office accused of misleading public over migrant ‘pull factors’ UK Politics Lib Dems win ‘safe’ North Shropshire seat in shocking blow for Tories UK Politics How Lib Dem’s newest MP used local pull to secure North Shrops victory Home News Four children die following house fire in south London Home News Mother desperately tried to save son who died choking on banana Home News Nightclubs in Wales to close after Boxing Day in response to Omicron Home News First person to die with Omicron was unjabbed pensioner, stepson says Culture Literary treasures including rare Brontë works saved from auction Home News NHS nurse struck off after trying to get cancer patient to buy CBD oil Home News School apologises after ‘prison food’ Christmas lunch goes viral Home News Police search river for student who ‘ran off’ during family night out Home News Man arrested in London theatre for refusing to wear a mask Home News Scam warning over fake omicron testing text messages Home News Scrap asylum seeker work ban, say government advisors Home News Snow could fall after Christmas as temperatures drop Home News Migrants including babies still held in ‘very poor’ conditions Home News Two missing after suspected arson attack as no more survivors expected Home News Law student successfully sues landlord over university accommodation Home News Fears phone data may be weaponised over new immigration officer powers Home News Coverage of Muslims and Islam in media is mostly negative, study finds Home News Make deal shielding Prince Andrew from lawsuit public, says judge Crime Man jailed after being filmed beating own pet Labrador with mallet Home News Seaside homes left perched on cliff edge after landslide overnight UK Politics Lib Dems pay to promote Tory Christmas party pic in by-election push Home News Anger as Home Office narrows eligibility for Afghan relocation scheme Health What would Plan C restrictions look like? Crime Babysitter slams social services response before toddler’s murder Home News Plans ‘being drawn up by schools to remain closed after New Year’ Home News Grenfell campaigners hold protest at Celotex factory Home News Government unveils cyber strategy to protect UK from ransomware plots UK Politics Raab’s ‘authoritarian’ overhaul will weaken human rights, MPs warn Home News Most minority ethnic Britons ‘no longer trust police’ UK Politics Fears Omicron could skew key by-election result by causing low turnout Home News Home Office facing legal action over rights of 2.5 million EU citizens Home News UK bird flu outbreaks could get ‘more severe’ in winter, charity says Home News ‘Decades for forests to recover’ as Storm Arwen damages 8m trees Home News PCR tests now unavailable in some areas after lateral flows run out Home News Domestic abuse rose in London by ‘up to 40%’ in first lockdown Crime Man detained after trying to drive car through parliament gates Home News Give young jobless a chance at work, says Professor Green Home News Rape victims with minor convictions blocked from compensation UK Politics North Shropshire by-election in balance amid growing voter disquiet Home News Dunblane Primary School headteacher speaks of massacre for first time Home News Lateral flow tests unavailable again despite Johnson denying shortage Home News Priti Patel faces legal action over Windrush compensation failures Vouchers Marella Cruise Deals Marella Cruise Deals Get £150 off your holiday using this TUI voucher code ASOS Discount Code ASOS Discount Code 15% off first order over £20 using this ASOS Discount code Travelodge Discount Code Travelodge Discount Code 5% off rooms with this Travelodge discount code The Body Shop Discount Code The Body Shop Discount Code £5 off all orders over £30: The Body Shop promo code Domino's Voucher Code Domino's Voucher Code Save 35% on £40+ orders with this Domino's voucher code nationwide ao.com Discount Code ao.com Discount Code 25% off kitchen appliances, laptops, TVs & more - ao discount Cult Beauty Discount Code Cult Beauty Discount Code 30% discount in the Cult Beauty sale...