Dimensions: 4.3 x 5.2 meters

Materials: Handmade receipt paper

Shown at: LSAD Small Sculpture Studio

 

Paper Standard tracks the foundation of contemporary western bank notes. Started by Gold Banks, receipts were made when people lodged gold coins at a jewellers, one of the few places with a safe. Over time these receipts proved easier to exchange than the coins and became their own form of currency. Eventually becoming government run bank notes, the money remained linked with physical standards, such as the original gold standard. 

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Contemporary capitalist economies no longer have this kind of guarantee, moving farther away from physical ties to our 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 receipt origins questions our presently intangible money. Currently 50% of all euros (over €500 Million) exist only as lines of code. What this means is that money can move more quickly, can be made and 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, resulting in more sustainable economic cycles.