‘money - barcode’
Nirmi Ziegler 2009

Artist Name: Nirmi Ziegler
Work title: ‘money- barcode’, triptych
Date of production: 2009
Media: handmade papers, money
[Cotton rag, white and night-blue, palm fibres]
Dimensions (h x w): 7 x 8 cm (each)

Artwork: ‘money - barcode’, triptych

‘money – barcode’ consists of 3 tiny handmade paper artworks, each one of different colour and material, representing the quality of it’s context. The centre work is on white cotton rag paper and the centrally placed, horizontal inlay consists of a cut up strip from a fifty Rand note. The brown plant paper above and the night-blue cotton rag paper below display the same horizontal strip: in the brown paper a strip of a ten Rand note, and in the night-blue paper a strip of a hundred Rand note.

The white paper represents the concept of ‘capitalism’, signified through its mass-produced, industrialized ‘cousin’ of the handmade paper. The brown palm paper represents the concept of the ‘environment’, as it is an alternative product and sort of earthy. And the night blue paper represents the concept of ‘corruption’, combining the industrially processed rag (as indication of exploitation) and the dark colour of the uncanny as reference.

The money value of each note reflects our actual value (despite the official version) of these concepts and the colours refer to their ‘characters’. I consider ‘corruption’ as the greatest ‘money maker’ globally, followed by ‘capitalism’, as a matter of fact, the two are almost twins…… and the looser is our ‘environment’. Due to this (monetary) evaluation of these concepts, we are loosing our very life source: our environment.

The relationship between art and money is that of love and prostitution: the moment it is defined as value, made into an asset, nobody looks at it for what it is, but what it is worth. The barcode on each purchasable item gives it its value and the banknote stripe mimics the barcode. This work engages with today’s role of art and the intimate size speaks rather of the boudoir than the marketplace.

Does art still rely on eyes to understand, sensible senses, an openness to recognize? Is art still a dialogue, a dance between the viewer and the viewed? By cutting up the banknote, I declare my love affair with art, but in the eyes of the law, I committed a crime. Did I?