Soothing Spaces

In their film, the artists focused on the observation of aesthetic, highly stylised elements of shopping centres’ interior design. As a result, the viewer saw the monotonous images of fish swimming in a large tank while listening to electronic music, composed especially for this work. The image and sound had a soothing and calming effect. We could risk saying that the artists succeeded in grasping an insidious market strategy. The soothing effect disarms the visitors to the shopping center, who thus feel good and are prone to spending more money. Spaces like these captured in the film are emblematic of late capitalism. Our world is a world of shopping centres that have assumed the role of entertainment centres, semi-public places where we spend our free time. These spaces promise wellbeing as long as we silently agree to play by their rules, which boil down to turning us into meek consumers under the illusion of incessant shopping as a means to achieving happiness.

> Magda Ujma

fot. Justyna Fedec