Mall ghosts: artists haunt abandoned shopping center with a stark reminder of identity
The American shopping mall, once a shimmering beacon of consumerism and adolescent dreams, is a relic of a bygone era. Now, in the heart of the Hudson Valley, a group of artists is breathing new life – and a hauntingly poignant reflection – into the decaying shell of the Hudson Valley Mall.
A canvas of nostalgia and disquiet
Curator Marly Hammer and her collective, Jasper Richmus, aren’t seeking to restore the mall to its former glory. Instead, they’re embracing its emptiness, its faded grandeur, and the ghosts of countless shoppers past. Their project, simply titled ‘The Mall,’ inserts contemporary art – painting, sculpture, installation, and photography – directly into the Architecture, transforming forgotten storefronts into temporary, intensely personal exhibitions.
It’s a deliberate provocation, a challenge to the relentless march of retail. The team meticulously cleaned decades of accumulated dust and grime, refusing to sanitize the building’s history. The former GNC now hosts ‘Gallery New Contemporary,’ showcasing works that confront consumer culture head-on – from Dina Cline’s miniature Tamagotchi ceramics to Johannah Herr’s unsettling sculptures questioning American gun culture. The space isn’t trying to be pristine; it’s trying to be honest.
Echoes of the 90s teen scene
Elsewhere, the former Hot Topic has been reborn as ‘Off Topic,’ a vibrant tribute to the alternative teen culture that once thrived within these walls. Thick walls of meticulously hand-painted VHS cases, depicting beloved 80s and 90s films, hang alongside Jennifer Sullivan’s paintings of Courtney Love and Richey’s digitally printed T-shirts – a direct nod to the iconic graphic tees of that era. ‘Hot Topic was a space for identity research,’ explains Richey. ‘You’d walk by this store blasting super-loud music and think: “Who are these people?”’
But the project isn’t limited to nostalgia. Lagoon’s sustainable-fashion boutique and Kingston’s queer-owned ‘Everywhere Shop’ are also finding a temporary home within the mall’s confines, offering a counterpoint to the dominant narrative of consumerism. Hammer admits her own curatorial instincts were perhaps shaped by the carefully assembled Troll doll collection of her childhood – a surprisingly resonant connection.
More than just shopping
Hammer, Asmus, and Richey believe the mall was, fundamentally, a laboratory of identity. Before social media dictated the constant performance of self, these spaces offered a crucial, if often unspoken, opportunity for young people to explore different facets of their personalities. It was a place to experiment with style, music, and belonging – a place to figure out who you wanted to become.
The ambitious installation by Stuart Lantry, a Ferris wheel of food and consumer goods surrounding sculpted hot dogs and Doritos bags (a pointed reference to Trump’s infamous 2019 banquet), serves as a potent visual metaphor. Linda Colletta’s immersive recreation of her childhood living room – complete with a period TV Guide and a grainy VHS copy of ‘Johnny Dangerously’ – is equally evocative. Marianna Peragallo’s houseplants, grown within thermoplastic shopping bags, subtly evokes the bittersweet memories of childhood.
‘The Mall’ isn’t just an exhibition; it's an invitation to reconsider the spaces we inhabit, the stories they tell, and the enduring power of memory.