We do not yet know...

Publication, exhibition, public programme, 2023.

"We Do Not Yet Know What ‘Toto-Africa (playing in an empty mall)’ Can Do" is a conversational essay that explores the internet phenomenon of musical empty mall memes on YouTube, in which pop songs are digitally processed to sound as-if played in an empty mall. I read these videos as a sonic mourning and questioning of consumerism’s failed promises, drawing from my personal experience as well as theoretical sources. It was published by OUTLINE, where it can be ordered online. It also distributed by Jesse Presse in select (art) book stores.

The publication was launched alongside an exhibition and public programme in Framer Framed titled "We do not yet know what malls can do". It featured guest speakers Maxime Garcia Diaz, Lila Bullen-Smith, and Dominique De Groen, as well as single-channel installation of the film Center, Ring, Mall. Expanding on the written piece, a web installation of empty mall YouTube videos, both found and created, makes the research tangible and sonically experiential in the exhibition.