Ohne Titel

The performance i would like to stage would involve the act of grinding away the faces from coins (spare change). Money, in the form of coins and notes, is an object which changes hands continuously in exchanges rooted in value. However these coins and notes are not objects of value in themselves, but rather are objects which represent the trust of the user in the economic system of the country or community. Having recently relocated to Switzerland to further my studies, I continued to think about how people understand their position (their situatedness) in relation to the symbols and events which surround them. Because money is so fundamental in making day to day interactions possible in contemporary societies, I was interested in using the object of the money itself as the material for the work; also to explore ways that art practice can operate more within the fabric of the everyday. Over the past few months I have spent time in the studio grinding away the faces from the spare change in my wallet- removing the connection to the place and also the value that they represent- reducing them essentially to small pieces of metal with numbers on them. My aim in doing this action is to return the partially blank coins into circulation through vending machines and also through one on one interactions. This performance will essentially be a moment where people can either exchange a normal coin for a blank coin or have their coin erased while they wait. While i am working on the coin i would like to talk to visitors about my thinking behind this action and encourage them to try and use the coin/s (put them back into circulation).