photos: Dadara
Nowadays, in a society struggling with collapsing banks, financial crisis, and a constant need of money from our governments, we are becoming more and more involved in exchanging processes on a daily base. We all know that governments don’t want to spend much money on art, and would rather keep spending it on banks that will later ask for money by the government, thus creating a nonsensical never-ending circle.
Relying upon these harsh truths, a few years ago the artist Dadara built a new concept-bank, the Exchanghibition Bank, aiming at promoting a new way of dealing with money, exchange and art. I’m speaking about a physically travelling bank booth which pops up at all possible places, from cultural spaces, urban environments, to isolated deserts.
The project explores the value of money and art, in relation to the values of the customers, offering the chance to visitors to exchange their money for pieces of arts that resemble money, which are basically original paintings converted into beautiful banknotes of Zero, Million, Infinite, Love and others. It’s obviously not real money, but that’s the whole point of it: the ‘cool’ bills seek to confront the visitors with the dilemma of wanting them simply for their aesthetic value, or because they are actually worth money. More about the project and it’s appearance here in Berlin next week, after the jump.
The Exchanghibition Bank has already challenged the engagement with the material means of exchange in many projects all around the world, including the Transformoney Tree in the Nevada Desert, and plenty of exchange booths in public spaces, such as the Amsterdam Central Station. Dadara is soon heading to Berlin to give a talk at Betahaus, as well as Pecha Kucha and screen their documentaries to our Berlin community, suggesting a new different way to look at money. Moreover, there will be the chance to customize another banknotes tree at Platoon and a special event at Katerholzig. The Exchanghibition Bank will be in Berlin from April 16 till 19, 2013, and you don’t want to miss out this experimental artistic experience! Check out the ‘art’ of turning art into money with a 90 seconds video and a preview of the ‘art bills’ below.
