Nicole Weisz

Escalator proposal

This proposal is for a large, crude painting of an escalator to be hung in the main circulation space of the Central St Martins building. It was a response to the new building's design resembling a shopping mall and that it is being used as an attraction for a commercial property development.

To me the escalator is a symbol of consumerism, since every shopping mall has an escalator. As Rem Koolhaas said,

“No invention has had the importance for and impact on shopping as the escalator.”

So my proposal is for a large painted escalator to be hung in the atrium, promising a trip skywards to consumer heaven - it’s the contemporary equivalent of the 18th century sublime.