Le centre des loisirs
Les centres commerciaux doivent s'adapter en permanence pour conserver leur rang. Pour attirer plus de clients, ils se transforment en intégrant une dimension de loisirs à leur offre, à l'image des Malls américains et des « Retail Parcs ».
Le client n'est plus seulement un consommateur, mais devient un acteur d'un véritable programme culturel et de loisirs. Ce phénomène mondial touche tous les continents et propose des activités variées, allant de la piscine à vagues aux pistes de ski en passant par les discothèques et les parcs d'attractions.
Ben & Sara illustrent cette transformation avec une approche photographique qui emprunte à la fois au surréalisme et aux codes de la publicité. Leur mise en scène épurée met en lumière cette modernité, rappelant l'univers du réalisateur Jacques Tati.
The center of spare-time activities
In the current period of inflation, shopping centers and stores in commercial areas are being shaken up. Adaptations have always been necessary to maintain rank in the era of Homo consommatus.
"The center of spare-time activities" illustrates, through absurdity and derision, the transformation of shopping centres in France - like the American "Malls" and the new "Retail Parks". These places have moved from “point of sale” to “place of life” by integrating the “leisure” dimension into their offer, in order to attract more customers.
In these spaces, the customer is no longer simply a consumer: "The center of spare-time activities" becomes a real cultural program close to home, an open door to the new temples of globalised consumption.
This international phenomenon concerns both Asia and the Maghreb, as well as the United States of America and Europe: wave pool, tree climbing, ski slopes, nightclubs, theme park ... are integrated into «new generation” shopping centers.
Ben & Sara interpret this phenomenon and recreate it by borrowing from the world of the surrealists but also from the codes of advertising. They favor a refined staging in order to highlight this modernity which could come straight out of a Jacques Tati film.