Purple Diary
[December 16 2010]
House by Doug Aitken, Los Angeles
The Los Angeles-based gallery Regen Projects presents Doug Aitken’s most recent film House. His video revolves around a couple stoically seated at a table in a house — Aitken’s own parents in his own house, in fact. Facing one another, his parents’ gaze is locked as debris and fragments of the house fall around them. The two protagonists remain indifferent as the house crumbles and disappears, emphasizing the contrast between action and inaction. Aitken has installed a mass of wood scraps and other debris around them, playing in echoes with the video installation. Expanding the diegetic of the film, this debris becomes part of the narrative and complexiflies the spectator’s perception. He distorts the spatio-temporal domain traditionally devolved to the video and allows an immersion outside the expected frame. House by Doug Aitken runs until December 18 at Regen Projects, 633 Nort Almont Drive, Los Angeles. Text Pierre-Alexandre Mateos
