SXSW FILM FESTIVAL 2024 REVIEW! I’ll admit I’m a fan of capitalism, and I can also be a fan of the little person. Indie vs. Big Hollywood is my stock and trade. Jeremy Workman’s documentary, Secret Mall Apartment, is more than just a movie about an audacious prank; it is about a little artist standing up to corporate greed.
In 2003, developers tore down a large swath of abandoned mills inhabited by artists and punk rockers to build a massive shopping mall, Providence Place Mall. Upset at the loss of the creative space and the greed and its seeming thumbed-nose at the local residents, artist Michael Townsend, his wife Adriana, and six of his college students decided to protest the mall by making it their home for as long as they could.
What started as rummaging through dumpsters for uneaten food court meals and finding hiding spots to sleep soon turned into something more ambitious. After finding ample space between the mall proper and its very curved exterior wall, Townsend and the gang found a spot to establish a fully furnished apartment.
Let’s be clear: the only law they were breaking was trespassing. The fun in watching Townsend is how they could smuggle furniture into the space and set up electricity while evading mall security. I didn’t even mention the construction of a cemented cinderblock wall. With a few sofas, china cabinets, and a Playstation set up, Townsend’s crew lived there for over four years.
“…decided to protest the mall by making it their home for as long as they could.”
The incredible feat that director Workman is able to accomplish is to tell a full-formed story with incredible archival footage Townsend shot on those small compact mini-cameras of the 2000s, news footage of when Townsend got caught, talking head interviews with all of the participants, and hiring local artists to recreate the apartment for slightly cheese re-enactments.
Just as fascinating as the prankish nature of the mall apartment is, the film also profiles Michael Townsend, the artist. In fact, the film splits it 50/50. He’s known mainly as a temporary artist, meaning that his work was never meant to be permanent…it exists only in a moment in time.
His forte was tape art, using multi-colored masking tape to create images. Townsend and the other interlopers spent over a decade creating tape art at the local children’s hospital, creating images inspired by the children’s dreams and often involved the children themself in creating the art. Townsend is also known for creating tape art to honor those lost in the Oklahoma bombing and 9/11.
Secret Mall Apartment succeeds because director Jeremy Workman knows how to tell a story. Sure, documentarians can piece together video footage and interviews to tell the story of this elaborate prank, but what Workman does is fold in Townsend, the artist, and put his heart out there in an interesting and engaging way. Sorta makes me want to give it all up and make art…even if it means having only $41 in your bank account.
What strikes me most about Townsend is the giving nature of his art. The temporary nature of his art means that it is here today and gone tomorrow and seen, yet oftentimes unseen. It’s his expression is a gift to the world. If you’re lucky to see it in person, it’s a gift you will treasure forever. That is the gift of Secret Mall Apartment.
Secret Mall Apartment screened at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival.
"…a gift you will treasure forever."
