White Russians

White Russians is a performance and a video installation done in collaboration with the Akien family. Invited to create a site specific work in the High Desert, Okón decided to work with the residents of the Wonder Valley, a remote desert area with scattered houses on 5 acre lots, dirt roads and no running water.

The piece involves the participation of a group of local residents whom, along with the Akien family, are presented as one big fictional family, which spectators come and visit throughout the weekend. Visitors are greeted with “White Russians,” Diana Akien’s favorite drink. The actions that take place inside the home (singing of Western songs, a fight where the artist and the guests get kicked-out, etc.) happen every 20 minutes and are the result of collaborative rehearsals Okón had with the family. In the end it is hard for spectators to distinguish when the family is acting and when they are being themselves.

The piece underscores the fears and fantasies urban dwellers often have about people who live in the “middle of nowhere.” Four cameras were installed in the living room so that “spectators” became actors, not allowing them to play a passive role. The visit to the home not only emphasizes the voyeuristic gaze of the spectator or art-goer, but also reverts it: the family looks back.

   
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