The Podium

Faces of Money

Meet the protagonists of money. How did these people get themselves printed so many times? What do you know about Gandhi? Who’s that ever-young lady on
the Australian notes? Where can we see Genghis Khan’s face? Photographer Piero Martinello has produced a series of portraits of the most touched people on earth in their still, unchangeable expressions.

The Look of Love

The Look of Love is an installation that literally changes at the blink of an eye. Approach the gold bar and look through two peepholes. Now try to bear the gaze. With each detected blink, the image of currency in front of you changes and a new version of the song “The Look of Love”, playing in the background, begins. In that, the unconscious act of blinking becomes an element of play, while evoking the sense that money changes in the blink of an eye.

False Coin Drop

The dropping of coins has a unique sound, often evoking the unconscious feeling within us to pick up money. This installation leads the visitor to question such instincts: what if it is just the sound of a coin? Come see if you are able to control unconscious greed and realize that no, you don’t really care about money. Can you?

Piggy Bank

Save money, spend money. Save money, spend money. Start over. An innovative design object, Sam Baron’s Piggy Bank questions the endless process of accumulation and expense that rules our daily lives by showing the futility of this social game we always lose.

Crisis Pole

Are you aware of the origins of the current economic crisis? Have you been honest with yourself? Are you still spending money or about to tear up your credit card? Tell us about yourself by interacting with and voting at the crisis poles. As the exhibition concludes, the poles will turn into a poll reflecting a collective psychological perception of worldwide crisis.

I Pledge Allegiance

United States Treasury statistics indicate that foreigners hold almost 50% of U.S. federal debt. Among foreigners, the largest holders are the central banks of Japan and China, with a combined total of some $864 billion. Ironically, the proportion of American debt held by the two perfectly fits the proportions of an American flag, leading many to wonder who actually controls a nation when its debt is in the hands of foreigners.

Know your body

How much can you get from selling your kidney? How much is it worth to have everything removed? Would you pay for someone’s grease? In the era of a globalized economy, any part of our bodies can be sold and anything that is sold can be priced. Find out how much each item in our bodies are priced and don’t miss a good deal.

Time is Money

Le temps c’est de l’argent, il tempo è denaro, el tiempo es oro - time is money, everywhere. Watch the actual shape of this famous proverb across a screen as time passes by in the shape of coins and notes from all over the world. You can upload your own images of numbers visiting the website: www.exquisiteclock.org

Secret meaning

Place the coin in the pattern and give an opportunity to those less fortunate than you. A tribute to the inventor of microcredit Muhammad Yunus, the interactive “secret meaning” installation reveals itself step by step, coin by coin.

Value of a Wish

Divided into sections named after the most common desires, the fountain of wishes puts an ironic twist on the global habit of trying to fulfill a wish by throwing a coin into water. Love, health, peace, work, environment: based on the makeup of visitors’ wishes, this installation shows the day by day growth of the various wish types. How much is your wish worth?

Stock Exchange of Visions

What kind of goods would be traded in a stock exchange of visions? Initiated to circulate a ‘currency of culture’, this project provides a platform for the world’s leading artists, sociologists, activists and scientists to share their visions of the future of our planet. Watch leading personalities of the last century discuss issues of money. www.stockexchangeofvisions.org

Mail Box

Feeling creative? Share your ideas with us. Take a postcard, write or sketch your impressions of the current economic prospectus and drop it in our mailbox. A selection of the submissions will be periodically shown in the exhibition.

Wealth postcards

Give your friends the gift of divinity, choose a god that best fits their situation or simply collect them all. From the Peruvian fortune bearer Ekeko and West African sex-for-wealth goddess Mami Wata to the golden skinned Tibetan Dzambhala, Fabrica artist Diego Beyró designed a series of postcards to bring luxury to your life, or just add a bit of fun to it.

Everywhere

Money is everywhere but we only see it in the shape of a note. Take a look inside the binoculars and find out what the real world looks like when money dominates the entire ambiance around us. Don’t worry, the truth will only last a few minutes and leave no trace.