The Mall was a white-box gallery exhibition sale commemorating the wearable artworks used in the A Night In The Chapel runway showcase. This show’s main purpose was to comment and prove that wearability in art, specifically sculptural art, does not demote a piece’s value.
Channeling my numerous years of retail experience, the position I held during the opening of this exhibition was behind the selling counter in the rear of the installation space. Behind this barrier, I sold the pieces installed in front of me while interacting with The Mall’s patrons. Playing this part in the show forced spectators to become customers, requiring them to speak through the purchasing counter when they had a question about the collection. The prices of the individual pieces, seen suspended in air or on a pedestal, were all valued like works of a typical fine art gallery. This installation’s inherent qualities of commerciality lends itself to the fact that I was never truly exposed to fine art as a kid but rather found creative inspiration when I frequented local shopping malls with my mom. This exposure to the world of consumerism and design from an early age heavily influenced my outlook on art, most thoroughly explored with this installation.
The Mall’s visual composition upon entering is one that I recognize as an art piece in and of itself, even if it is technically made up of singular art pieces.
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