Outset Israel supported the production of Roee Rosen's film Hilarious, which premiered at Tate Modern (February 2010) as part of Trembling Time: Recent Video from Israel, curated by Stuart Comer (Tate Modern) and Sergio Edelsztein (CCA Tel Aviv). Roee Rosen's work scrambles fact and fiction, playfully negotiating fictional personas, cultural politics and sexuality to question the construction of history and identity. His provocative use of language and translation further complicates this kaleidoscope of personalities and challenges the boundaries of expression.'Hilarious' examines the mechanisms of humour - how we use it, when it ceases to make us laugh and how it can eventually become dysfunctional. The work subverts the classical stand-up monologue that mixes bad jokes with truly macabre situations while the live audience react as instructed, regardless of the meaning, inflates tension and dissonance.
Hilarious was included in the retrospective The Dynamic Dead Roee Rosen held at the Centre for Contemporary Art Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw (April 21st – July 3rd 2011) and was gifted to the museum’s permanent collection on behalf of Outset Israel.
Roee Rosen's video work 'Hilarious' was donated to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art by the artist and Outset Contemporary Art Fund.
