For this “Christmas with restrictions” season, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art will present a comical installation by photographer Alex Prager called “Farewell, Work Holliday Parties” 2020, which consists of 15 hyper-realistic figures that recreate an office Christmas party, complete with desks, photocopiers and even a water dispenser.

For this installation, Alex Prager carried out a rigorous process to create the figures with the help of a Hollywood special effects company. First, he hired a series of actors, who would portray each character, to pose on Zoom, so that their bodies and postures would be scanned and reproduced with a 3D printer. Then, he went on to transmit “life” to them; they were given hair and paint treatments so that they acquired real skin tones. And with the support of a team of designers, the clothing for each character was selected, as well as the decorations that would accompany the space, to create an environment that was as real as possible.

The result was quite hyperrealistic, not only in the appearance of the sculptures, but in the personalities they seem to have, the role they have within their party and the way they were presented; It appears to be a real scene frozen in time. Among the many characters you can see a lady sleeping bored on a desk, a couple who dances drunk and even a girl who cries while reading a text message that her relationship has ended.

In these times of restrictions, social distancing and reduced outings, Alex sought to reproduce a scene that in other years is very common, and that could be fun to remember. “These are very difficult times and there has not been much humor in the world in the last 9 months (…) Humor is a way of shedding light on something that is not easy to experience and that allows us to laugh at ourselves.” the artist said about her work to the L.A. Times. The sponsor of the exhibition, the Millet Lite brewery, points out in its advertising that we can at least “celebrate the end of the work holidays,” which are often unpopular in American society, and use these dates to enjoy them with those we really care about. .

The exhibition will be available until January 3, 2021, and following California regulations in response to the resurgence of Covid-19 in the state, the installation has been placed in an area open to the public where it can be visited without needing to purchase a ticket. ticket or enter the museum.

With information from Artsy and LACMA.