timespace coordinates: 2010’s America
Beginning in 2015, The Changing Landscape of American Retail is an ongoing documentation of the shift from traditional brick-and-mortar locations where we once socialized and interacted with our community to the stark and generic structures that house shipping, fulfillment, call, and server centers, now essential for e-commerce.
Like memories, familiar retail entities are fading away. Today, they stand as modern-day ruins and architectural artifacts that reach into the not-so-distant past of our own maturing interests and evolving identities.
Toys “R” Us brings back of memories of avoiding my brother’s aerial assaults of red dodge balls and Nerf guns while simultaneously ignoring my mother’s plea to stop tearing into brand-new boxes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figures and Lego Pirate sets.
The Battlefield Mall was once a central meeting spot for my junior high peers—anchored by the food court and Aladdin’s Castle arcade. Here, a myriad of sights and smells trigger the memory to act as a roadmap for navigating the mall. Orange Julius produced the sweet scent of Florida citrus in Southern Missouri; there was the salty cheese sauce wafting from Potato Plus; and the fragrant cinnamon-sugar of Auntie Anne’s baked pretzels. The nearby arcade elicits a sensory transaction when I’m greeted by the flashing lights of Street Fighter II, manic electronic beeps, purple geometric carpet, and the oddly unique odor of stale popcorn mixed with the metallic scent of quarters, tucked into my front pocket. (read more here)


Publication The Hollywood Reporter describes Radu Jude’s film as “a harsh lesson of history, relieved by overlooked humor and classic Western elements”. Variety magazine writes that Aferim! is “an exceptional and extremely intelligent insight into a crucial period of history, a film equally inspired and furious” (