Oríllese a la orilla
Yoshua Okón
Pull Over to the Curb The redundant phrase “oríllese a la orilla” is a pleonasm often used by the Mexican police in asking a driver to stop. Okón’s video installation shows attempted interactions with the police that range from humane and humorous gestures to threats and insinuations of bribery.
Sometimes using a hidden camera, Okón hired police officers to carry out certain actions, revealing the degrees of negotiation that citizens frequently sustain with members of this institution. Okón’s strategy produces a profound ambiguity between fiction and reality, a characteristic feature of his work. In the context of his output in the 1990s, when experimentation and the impact on public space carried significant weight, Okón’s work criticizes neoliberal society while always winking to the viewer.
YOSHUA OKÓN (1970)
Oríllese a la orilla, 1999–2000
Pull Over to the Curb
Video installation
Acquisition, 2012
