Artwork: Paper Standard , 2019

Paper Standard tracks the foundation of contemporary western bank notes. Started by Gold Banks, receipts were made when gold coins were lodged at jewellers, one of the few places with a safe. Over time these receipts proved easier to exchange than coins and became their own form of currency.

Paper Standard uses paper-making to remake receipts, an account of commodity transactions, as €5 sized sections joining together to form a single monumental sheet. This attempt to return contemporary bank notes to their origins as receipts questions our presently intangible money. In 2019 50% of all euros (over €500 Million) exist only as lines of code enabling money to move in fractions of a second, to be traded exponentially faster than before. Through making these processes physical and tangible we can all become more accountable for the movement of money in our economy.