Thursday 12 December 2013

Justine Smith - Money Map of the World 2013


Justine Smith | Money Map of the World 2013 | Inkjet with pearlised screen printing on 330gsm Somerset enhanced paper | Edition of 90 | Signed and editioned by the artist | 150 x 92 cm

Justine Smith has become renowned for the unique artworks she creates using the medium of banknotes. In her hands currency is transformed into colourful and provocative images that question our relationship with money, and explore the power and ideas it can represent. 

Her latest work, Money Map of the World 2013, is the most recent in a series of Money Maps that began nine years ago, with Money Map of the World 2004/5.

This limited edition print was developed from a collage which took the artist 10 months to complete. It was constructed using the current issue bank notes for every official currency in the world, right down to the smallest island state.

Justine has described how using banknotes in her artistic practice feels like ‘working with an elemental force.’ In Money Map of the World 2013 this force has been captured to create a politically charged, and yet strikingly beautiful image of the world we live in today.