2021
sound installation (audio, 28:56 min) and wallpaper, dimensions variable
Script for Mirage (English with Chinese translation): Download PDF
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Walter Benjamin’s research work The Arcades Project and Emile Zola’s novel The Ladies’ Paradise portray the world of department stores and luxury goods full of temptations. Since their emergence in the 19th century, they have become an indispensable component of consumer culture.
The audio piece Mirage that surrounds the gallery space brings these two literary works together, along with quotes from a contemporary visual merchandising coach. With a large wall paper designed after the historical front gate of the German department store KaDeWe, the exhibition constructs a ‘consumer temple’. The interchanging black and white light gives the room an illusory atmosphere, revealing the ‘second face’ of these paintings, while visualizing the temptation the store environment generates on a psychological level.