The shop with nothing to sell and the window with nothing to buy.
How one artist takes on the empty walls and windows of a vacant unit in Southgate.

Joanna Gilbert, currently studying for a Masters in Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts, has collaborated with TFL and Cushman & Wakefield to transform Unit 6, Station Parade, Southgate, for one night only.

Gilbert is interested in hyper-consumerism and how purchasing desired items in the ever-changing brandscape results in short-lived feelings of satisfaction. After the purchase, there is an air of disappointment; we are right back where we began, wanting more…and the cycle continues.

Joanna Gilbert is exploring these critical questions: Are we consuming for the sake of consuming? What if we consumed a vacant space? How would that impact our desire to purchase if there isnothing to purchase?

“There is a vacant shop in Southgate’s Station Parade. It’s called Unit 6. It’s the one next to the tunnel with rectangular postmodern lights that give a subtle yellow glow. Every day I walk past it and admire the beautiful full length panoramic windows that span the whole length of the shop then curve around corners. It’s empty but breathtaking. There is so much potential for this space.  I see it. I believe in it.”

With a penchant for sheen and luminosity, Joanna Gilbert’s pop-up show aims to be an intervention between retailers and consumers.  By projecting only colour and light from the vacant shop (there is nothing to buy) the window shopper becomes a passerby, making a memory of Unit 6, Station Parade, as it is lit up for one night.

Serving over 5 million people, Southgate Tube Station was recently renamed ‘Gareth Southgate Station’ for 48 hours in honor of the England manager. This is a poignant example of how brands and people can create something ‘just for fun’ and runs parallel with what Gilbert has set out to achieve during the show.

Unit 6 Pop-up Art Show will take place on Thursday 26th July between 7pm – 9pm.

@joanna_gilbert_artist