When President George W. Bush and Mayor Rudolph Giuliani urged citizens to go out shopping and to a Broadway show to boost the U.S. economy after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, photographer Brian Ulrich hit the malls. He began making large-scale photographs that examine the oddities of American consumer culture. And he continues to explore the consumer wasteland of stores and products in a way that presents the flip side of the 'Kodak moment.'

Three images from the Copia series by Brian Ulrich, courtesy of Quality Pictures

Copia, the overall title of the project, is the Latin word for plenty and when he began shooting, Ulrich went to big box retailers and malls. In these shiny generic places, shiny generic products seem to hold shoppers in an almost robotic grip. Soon he began to enlarge the project to explore the nature of consumerism as it plays out up and down the economic ladder. Notable in this series are his studies of thrift shops, 13 of which will be exhibited at Quality Pictures starting this Friday.

The photographs offer penetrating views of people and their stuff, proving that the emotional experience that shopping offers prevails across the board. Mountains of white sneakers, shelves full of colorful toys, a room full of discarded computers, a young woman pricing items for sale, a young man contemplating a lineup of shoes - these images speak not so much about a recycling ethic but more about what it means to be a shopper on the prowl.

Quality Pictures, owned and operated by Atlanta transplant Erik Schneider, invites gallery hoppers to bring an article of clothing to the opening reception tomorrow night. All items will be donated to a clothing drive to benefit Portland's thrift stores.

Brian Ulrich received his MFA in photography from Columbia College in Chicago, where he currently resides and teaches. His work has been exhibited at numerous venues throughout the U.S. including recent solo shows at Julie Saul Gallery (NYC) and Robert Koch (San Francisco). His work will be included in group exhibitions this spring at the Walker Art Center (Minneapolis, MN) and the DeCordova Museum (Lincoln, MA).