Westland Mall

More Information

Throughout his career, Ulrich has focused on consumer culture, paying particular attention to the American economic system’s reliance upon a constant stream of new products, which brings waste and negative effects on communities and the environment. Having taken these pictures in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, the artist wrote “By photographing the hulking remnants of a consumer world now since abandoned and stripped of its signification of brands, promised illusions, and advertisements; the futility of a retail-based economy lays bare in the empty malls and retail stores that represent reminders of consumption without foresight.”