Panorama: I like shopping centres and shopping centres like me 

Eamon O'Kane

Contemporary Art Society and The Economist Group are pleased to present Eamon O’Kane’s “Panorama: I like shopping centres and shopping centres like me” at the Economist Plaza. The exhibition is part of a major touring exhibition of the artist's work which will visit British and international venues in 2008 and 2009.

The work comprises a 30m long black and white painting, situated in a panoramic structure. The painting reflects trees from nearby Green Park with architectural elements from the immediate surroundings of the Economist Plaza. The work is not accessible from the outside and can only be seen through viewing lenses. Some of the lenses look into the panoramic painting and others look into models of imaginary installations. The lenses distort the perspective so that the epic painting looks smaller while the models appear oversized, subtly confounding the viewer’s expectations of the work.

The panorama invites the viewer to look at the world in a way, which is not possible in real life. Using familiar views from our surroundings, O’Kane unites architecture and nature in one structure. The spy-holes transform our perceptions of this reality, which cause the viewer to evaluate and question the world we live in.