Thursday, November 1, 2018

6PM

Main Building, MAL B35

Birkbeck, University of London

Malet Street

London WC1E 7HX

This talk features artist Yoshua Okón reflecting on his film installations. It is conceived as an open discussion that will provide an opportunity for the public to ask questions about Okón’s treatment of the movie image and about his first solo show in London Future Shock, presented at Chalton Gallery and curated by Giulia Colletti (3rd October-10th November 2018). 

Okón’s work focuses on seemingly absurd political and social aspects of the North American region, exploring disproportionate consumption, rampant dispossession, and blind nationalism. He challenges the boundaries between the real and the artificial, using re-enactment as narrative technique in order to exacerbate social dysfunctions. His art lies at the crossroads of collective performance and simulation, continuously playing with uncertainty in relation to what is seen and unseen.

The talk will be followed by a Question and Answer session with Dr. Mara Polgowsky Ezcurra from the Department of History of Art at Birkbeck.

 

Yoshua Okón (Mexico City, 1970) is an artist based in Mexico City. His artistic research pivots on experiments executed for the camera blending staged situations, documentation, and improvisation, questioning conventional perceptions of reality, truth, selfhood and morality. In 1994, Yoshua Okón along with Miguel Calderón founded La Panadería in a former bakery. Until 2002, this project served Mexico City as a vibrant non-profit space for exhibitions, residencies, and cultural events involving local and international artists. In 2009, Yoshua Okón establishes SOMA along with artists such as Francis Alÿs, Teresa Margolles, Mario García Torres, and Julieta Aranda. Yoshua Okón’s work has been featured in Manifesta11 (Zurich); Gwangju Biennale (South Korea), and included in the collections of Tate Modern, Hammer Museum, LACMA, Colección Jumex and MUAC, among others. 

This event is a collaboration between CILAVS and the History of Art Department, Birkbeck, University of London.

*Image: Yoshua Okón, Canned Laughter, 2009. Courtesy of the artist.

Entrance free but booking here necessary.