A Friday at Concord Mills, 10.17.18
My favorite photo I took my night at Concord Mills. Look at the little girl and her excitement for her mom. I was lucky enough to catch this at the right time as her mom pulled and won an ET figure from the claw machine.
In 2014, I saw an article (I’ll link below) about malls in the 80’s. A photographer named Michael Galinsky took photos of different malls across the United States as he traveled. The photos brought me feelings of longing. I wanted to be there. I romanticize the 80’s so much that Galinsky’s photos made me miss times like those, times I didn’t ever live. That’s the power of photography, specifically film aesthetic. Women with big hair. Cassette-lined walls. Tube television. Colorful, vibrant fashion. Dirty white shoes. These things are all synonymous with the 80’s, with malls being the medium for it all.
Often times when I reflect on things, my mind wanders to what’s no longer around and how different things feel. Y’all remember limited texts? Free minutes after 9pm? What about AIM after school? Or Jellybeanz on a Friday night when they hosted skate/dances? That last one was specifically for my Triangle folk. When things are around for a prolonged period, we tend to take those things for granted. It’s difficult not to feel bad, but I accept it under the condition of human nature. Under this broad umbrella of ‘things’ lies retail stores. I’m only 25 and a few stores vital to my upbringing have bitten the dust. KB Toys, Circuit City, Blockbuster, and most recently Toys R Us. I was having a talk with my brother last year about dying trends and different types of places closing. There are few bowling alleys and skating rinks left. Malls are dying because of online shopping. There are a plethora of YouTube videos documenting this shift. It left me to weigh my beliefs; convenience vs experience. Yes, I enjoy Netflix, but I miss walking into Blockbuster after a long week of school to come up on a movie I could enjoy with delivery pizza from Domino’s. Shopping for clothes online is convenient, but I often must return things due to the sizing and my inability to try things on. I guess I’m spoiled as if I had it my way, there would be both, not a decision between the two. Am I the only one who enjoys physical stores anymore???
Inspired by the mall photos from ’89, I set out to go to the nearest mall around me, Concord Mills. Concord Mills is an outlet mall located in Concord, North Carolina. It is right on the border of Charlotte on I-85. The mall is one floor, but it is a large ring with colorful signs and tiles along the way. It’s a good way to get steps in if you wanted to walk alone in public. Concord Mills is filled with stores such as TJ Maxx, Nike, Best Buy, Bass Pro Shops, and my favorite, Burger King. They even offer an indoor aquarium and an AMC movie theatre. I’ve strolled through this mall plenty of times. Not much has changed with the exception of the location of the perfume stores. Concord Mills has a lot of foot traffic, especially on the weekends. They’ve actually done renovations to a few spots in the building, leading me to believe this is one of the malls that have a good chance of being here in the long run. Regardless, I wanted to document a Friday night at Concord Mills.
As a teen, the mall was the hangout spot on the weekends. Especially if you had a job there or you knew a friend who had their L’s. My night at the mall was cool. I had a bunch of people walk up to me and ask if I did videos or photos. I assumed by videos they meant rap videos, ha. I remembered walking around the St. Louis Galleria years ago with my dad’s camera around my neck and getting the same public interest in creative endeavors. One guy I met was at a kiosk outside the dining pavilion. He was selling novels he wrote, and currently he was on tour. I can always respect a fellow writer, he said he was from Tennessee. In Footlocker, one of the employees came up to me and asked what I was shooting with. Turns out he was photographer, and we exchanged info with plans to shoot in the near future. The mall was filled with teenagers galore. I mean what else was there to do on a Friday night?? Reminded me of a kid I used to know back when. One of the more interesting interactions I had was with the manager in the Coach store. She was telling me how they are doing renovations to Concord Mills, and that it would be ongoing for a while. She also said I should get a picture of the mall sign on the Bass Pro Shops side because they are planning by 2020 to make a separate exit off of I-85 directly into Concord Mills to reduce traffic on Concord Mills Boulevard. Amazing how welcoming a camera is to conversation with strangers.
Check out my impressions of Concord Mills below, and be sure to let me know what you think in the comments!
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