You Are Here Print

"You Are Here" was created for "Shopping Malls", a group show at Gallery 1988: LA, opening June 4th. This show theme gave me an excuse to explore something I've been thinking a lot about lately: the gradual shift in our methods of consuming products and how much it's all been accelerated by COVID. American shopping malls and retail spaces in general have been on the decline for decades as they continue to become irrelevant to those who never relished the experience of shopping in a physical space. A large number have become unsustainable relics, left to decay and either eventually be repurposed or demolished. Despite not being one to enjoy, say, driving a half hour at 8p to get a pair of socks at the nearest Kohl's, I, along with many others in my generation, have profoundly nostalgic memories of accompanying moms and friends on shopping trips as a child of the late 80s, early 90s and taking in the sights, smells and sounds of the local mall. Malls were seen by many as unabashed shrines to capitalism - they were characterized by evenly placed indoor palm plants (pictured in foreground of painting), bountiful neon lighting, softly echoing Muzak and temperature control to keep people inside and consuming as long as possible. Like most nostalgic memories, there is a strange dissonance between my general depressing and cynical feelings I have for the mall concept as an adult, and my happy / sad memories of them as a child (perfectly represented by the many fantastic images of "dead malls" found online and circulating in the "dead mall" community - yes, there's a community for everything). Even though malls were generally made to look nearly identical with all the blandest style trends of the day and recognizable branding everywhere, each one was still technically a unique physical space with it's own history and each individual who's inhabited them has their own history connected to that space. Like most nostalgia, it's not the value of the thing itself but what you were feeling (or what you thought you were feeling in retrospect) when you were experiencing it. Nostalgia is a difficult emotion to dissect, but needless to say I've got a thing for malls in their heyday and one of my favorite architectural feature were the massive atriums that were found in most of them, usually a central space like the food court or a seating area with the mall map in the center, hence the title. The fountains really stuck with me. I picture myself gazing at these tiled, beautifully lit constructions and seeing pure magic while whatever adult I was with likely wanted to get what they needed and then get the hell out. I wanted to include these in the piece, and I guess the tomb, among other things, represents being reminded of my own mortality as I watch the fixtures of my youth slowly fade away. C'est la vie, but this makes it no less depressing. Happy to have the opportunity to be prompted by this show, and looking forward to possibly painting more malls, in some form or another, in the near future.