Waiting at dusk in the queue, a few dozen bats flew out from the top floor of the abandoned mall. Tickets were in high demand and short supply for the art installation at New World Mall in Banglamphu, Bangkok, and many punters that hadn’t booked beforehand were turned away.
The mall has been closed for several decades, but is a staple of Bangkok’s urban exploration circuit. The basement has deep pools of water which used to be home to a large population of carp that were later removed by the authorities.
For Bangkok Design Week 2022, the abandoned mall was opened up for a series of art installations and a light show using the rusted escalators and hall spaces as backdrops. The project was titled “New World Old Town”.
The event was extremely popular and some of the survey questions completed by the visitors hinted that there may be plans for further such activities in the future.
Alasdair McLeod 