Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
6.25 × 10.75 in
Hand-cut International Currency Collage on Archival Paper
What happens when we take something that binds us all, currency, and reframe it?
Can we see it as art, as history, as shared human effort, rather than just capital?
And what beauty can be revealed when we strip away its function and insert our own meaning?
For some time I have been working on what I call Diplomatic Dioramas. I began with this piece. It's not my first, but feels like a good anchor point to establish the story I'm starting to tell.
Money to me is many things. The concept of currency, fiat, value, and exchange means so much. You can buy time, experience, power, lust, and desire. You can create opportunities, open doors, and provide good beyond the holder. At the same time it is a dangerous coin. It ties to greed, obsession, unfairness, unhappiness, and the pursuit of power. There is beauty, mystery, and many not so niceties. This duality has fascinated me since childhood.
I wanted to take countries and place them side by side, recognizing their collective beauty. I wanted to highlight what is sacred in something most of us only see as transactional. To strip away the context that binds us and rebuild it into something new and beautiful.
This is also about obsession. I have taken thousands of dollars and literally cut them up, removing their value as capital and reassembling them into something else. Something that holds no intrinsic worth, but worth to the eye of the viewer, whatever that may mean to you. Judge it, love it, or hate it, I'd love to see how many countries I can reach in this effort.
Beyond obsession is uniqueness. Money is unlike anything else we know. It has existed through almost all of human history and even finds parallels in the natural world, where animals trade, barter, and exchange. Currency is ancient and evolving. It is practical and symbolic, ordinary and sacred. There is no other concept like it.
Some inspirations include @markwagnerinc, @brochevski, @staceyleewebber, @jcolomboart futeks, and c.k.wilde. Their work helped inspire my path, this being my own attempt to enter that dialogue.
How many countries can you find?
All we need is love. Thank you💙
6.25 × 10.75 in
Hand-cut International Currency Collage on Archival Paper
What happens when we take something that binds us all, currency, and reframe it?
Can we see it as art, as history, as shared human effort, rather than just capital?
And what beauty can be revealed when we strip away its function and insert our own meaning?
For some time I have been working on what I call Diplomatic Dioramas. I began with this piece. It's not my first, but feels like a good anchor point to establish the story I'm starting to tell.
Money to me is many things. The concept of currency, fiat, value, and exchange means so much. You can buy time, experience, power, lust, and desire. You can create opportunities, open doors, and provide good beyond the holder. At the same time it is a dangerous coin. It ties to greed, obsession, unfairness, unhappiness, and the pursuit of power. There is beauty, mystery, and many not so niceties. This duality has fascinated me since childhood.
I wanted to take countries and place them side by side, recognizing their collective beauty. I wanted to highlight what is sacred in something most of us only see as transactional. To strip away the context that binds us and rebuild it into something new and beautiful.
This is also about obsession. I have taken thousands of dollars and literally cut them up, removing their value as capital and reassembling them into something else. Something that holds no intrinsic worth, but worth to the eye of the viewer, whatever that may mean to you. Judge it, love it, or hate it, I'd love to see how many countries I can reach in this effort.
Beyond obsession is uniqueness. Money is unlike anything else we know. It has existed through almost all of human history and even finds parallels in the natural world, where animals trade, barter, and exchange. Currency is ancient and evolving. It is practical and symbolic, ordinary and sacred. There is no other concept like it.
Some inspirations include @markwagnerinc, @brochevski, @staceyleewebber, @jcolomboart futeks, and c.k.wilde. Their work helped inspire my path, this being my own attempt to enter that dialogue.
How many countries can you find?
All we need is love. Thank you💙