“You might notice how...”
Text Installation (2005)
Debenhams, Birmingham

This installation uses two phrases: "You might notice how good it feels to come in" and "You might notice how much you want to return". One version is written in childish writing, and the binary code translation on the wall behind is hand printed using blocks. This draws attention to the blurring of human and technology inherent in the codifying of thought into language and computers.

The phrases are based on persuasive language techniques, in particular those formulated by the psychologist Milton Erickson, which are related to NLP and other language based methods of changing patterns of thought. This has connections to language used in advertising and marketing.

The work is a direct response to the flow around the space of the exhibition area, which lies in the centre of two transit systems: customers enter smoothly up the escalator, and leave with slightly more difficulty down the stairs. In a similar way, the hand-written text is easy to understand, but the inability to read the code creates a mystery that the audience would want to solve. Once they have taken the step of entering the exhibition space, the ‘advert’ has already worked.

This piece draws attention to the symbolic codes present in the design of shopping areas, that encourage us to behave in certain ways. The circularity of entering, leaving, then returning is echoed in the architecture surrounding the space, with many curved walls and concentric circles on the ceiling. This recalls the dynamics of consumer behaviour, where there is desire, purchase, and then renewed desire for a newer, better or just different item.