Kris Kotcher. Frenemy’s FunHouse, 2023

An interior room decorated with colorful, abstract, 1960s-inspired patterns on the walls and ceiling, featuring vibrant green, pink, black, white, and purple colors. There are framed black-and-white line art pictures on the green wall and a colorful cartoon artwork on the wall. The room has various small furniture and decorative objects, including a yellow table, blue chairs, and small potted plants. A man with tattoos, wearing a black cap, blue t-shirt, and striped knee-high socks, is sitting in the room.
Colorful room with pink, purple, green, yellow, black, and white abstract patterns on the walls, ceiling, and floor, featuring black dots, wavy lines, and faces with blue eyes.
Colorful room with walls and ceiling painted in abstract patterns with wavy lines and bright colors including green, pink, purple, and black. There is a yellow table with a pink flower vase and a black bowl, and a woman in a yellow dress is holding pink flowers. The room has mirrors, plants, and chairs, with vibrant, playful decor.
People lying on the floor inside a vibrant, colorful room with psychedelic wall and ceiling artwork, including eyes and abstract patterns.
Colorful, abstract room with vibrant, wavy patterns on floors, walls, and ceiling, decorated with paintings, plants, and furniture, including a small yellow table and two chairs, one yellow and one blue.

About the FunHouse

In July 2023, Site Projects commissioned multi-disciplinary artist Frenemy, aka Kris Kotcher, to design a sideways illusion room for public display in New Haven.

The room’s playful design draws from Frenemy’s imaginative universe, inspired by the vibrant worlds of Pee Wee's Playhouse, Rocko's Modern Life, and Ren and Stimpy, as well as the colorful fashion and board designs of the early 90’s skateboarding scene.

The room is tilted 90 degrees to create the illusion of participants climbing on the walls and ceiling when photographed. Frenemy’s FunHouse provides an escape from our practical public spaces and asks us to take a moment to turn ourselves upside down and have a laugh.

Participants of all ages are invited to play with their sense of space and find new ways to interpret this sideways perspective using their own boundless creativity. 


Colorful wall with purple background, turquoise dots, green squiggles, a white clock showing 10:09, a small black shelf with a potted cactus and yellow container, and a tilted window frame with bright colors and cartoon-like sun and smiling face.
Three potted plants, including a cactus, a fern, and an elongated cactus, arranged on colorful containers attached to a wall.
Colorful room with polka-dotted and striped walls, a yellow table set for a meal with black utensils, pink flowers in a green vase, and vibrant artwork on the wall.
A collection of nine black-and-white drawings in black frames arranged in a cross pattern on a colorful green background with blue and purple spots and yellow squiggly lines.
Colorful small art room with walls painted in pink, black, and white abstract patterns, and a floor with blue, green, and pink design. Inside are a yellow and turquoise chair, a small table, a yellow shelf, potted plants, and wall decorations.
Pink flowers with dark centers against a colorful background of yellow, purple, and pink.