# animate! › Films › Hypnomart by Joe Magee & Alistair Gentry › direction & collaboration

Canonical: https://animate.org.uk/films/hypnomart/biography

Discovery terms: 2000s animation, manipulated live action, surveillance, consumerism, behaviour, experimental short film, filmmaker, artist, illustrator

The following is the archived page text; discovery terms above are separately sourced metadata.

Archive status: restored in 2026; historical calls, deadlines and services are closed.

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**Hypnomart** a film by Joe Magee & Alistair Gentry

[Joe Magee](https://www.periphery.co.uk), [Alistair Gentry](https://alistairgentry.net)

2001, 3 min 47 sec

### Joe Magee

#### artist statement

The emergent ‘story’ of **Hypnomart** highlights the journeys of entire family units to shopping centres. Are they just buying things or are they fulfiling other, more primordial, needs?

Observing people as they go about their shopping often reveals an apparent state of hypnosis. In passing through the revolving doors the shoppers enter a shared drug-like trance, because the environment is designed to be (or appear) clinical, contained and safe.

The proliferation and awareness of surveillance cameras heightens the sense that one is on a set, and on display. The film in part adopts the role of a surveillance camera operator; how can he, she or (increasingly) it deconstruct and interpret such a barrage of minute clues and subtle behaviours?

#### artist’s website

[Periphery](http://www.periphery.co.uk/)

Joe’s own website

### Alistair Gentry

#### artist’s website

[Alistair Gentry](http://www.btinternet.com/~gentry/)

Alistair’s own website

**Hypnomart** film, stills and other materials © Jo Magee & Alistair Gentry 2001