Gravitational collapse is the fundamental mechanism for the structural formation of the universe, occurring when the internal pressure of an object is insufficient to resist its own gravity.
At the Camino Real Shopping Center, Okón establishes an analogy between this physical phenomenon, the upcoming renovation of the shopping center in 2020, and the structure of the neoliberal economic system. In this context, Okón presents two works that revolve around consumer culture, but also predict its collapse. Saló Island (2013) is a video installation that recreates the scene of the “human dogs” from Saló, or the 120 days of Sodom (1975), a film by Pier Paolo Pasolini and Colapso Gravitatorio (2019), a site-specific installation that transforms the facades of abandoned stores, in hyperrealistic showcases that contrast with the devastated and burned interiors of said spaces.
Gravitational Collapse highlights the vicious circle to which the current economic system subjects us: on the one hand, the culture of hyper-consumption, with its consecration of the new and the reduction of life cycles; and on the other, the emotional void of consumers who, always dissatisfied, try to fill this void by consuming even more. In addition to this cycle, the project suggests the fragility of a system that, by generating excessive demand, uses non-renewable resources at an increasingly accelerated speed; heading towards an inevitable collapse or black hole.
Gravitational Collapse was presented at Proyecto Amil from September 26 to December 21, 2019. Full curatorial text by Renzo Gianella only available in Spanish version.
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