Chain

As regional character disappears and corporate culture homogenizes our surroundings, it’s increasingly hard to tell where you are. In Chain, malls, theme parks, hotels and corporate centres worldwide are joined into one monolithic contemporary superlandscape that shapes the lives of two women caught within it. One is a corporate businesswoman set adrift by her corporation while she researches the international theme park industry. The other is a young drifter, living and working illegally on the fringes of a shopping mall. Cohen contrives to turn the entire planet into a stretch of New Jersey commercial property – a universe that feels entirely real yet has the distinct smack of JG Ballard otherness.

“Jem Cohen’s CHAIN is a hypnotic, highly original piece about what its like to live in the new global corporate landscape” – Daily Telegraph