A few weeks ago we brought you Value – A Material From Banknotes that showed how designer Angela Mathis was using decommissioned bank notes as upholstery. Well now we have come across an artist that is also reusing bank notes, but in a completely different way. Her latest work sees her recreating Victorian museum displays by collaging torn up strips of money.
Paper has always been a primary material in the work of Justine Smith. Her current work is concerned with the concept of money and how it touches almost every aspect of our lives. She is interested in money as a conduit of power and also in the value systems with which we surround it. On a physical level a banknote is just a piece of paper, but it is what a banknote actually represents that is central to Smith’s work. Through her collages, prints and sculptures she examines our relationship with money in a political, moral and social sense, whilst also exploiting the physical beauty of the notes.
She has exhibited her work in galleries and museums internationally. Notable collections include the British Council, The British Library, and the UK Government Art Collection along with many international corporations, financial institutions and private collections, with her latest solo exhibition ‘A Matter Of Belief’ due to run from 10th-14th November at 15 Bateman Street, London.
A very small collection of the London-based artist’s work is shown below, but for the full collection that includes prints, sculptures, collages, and even wallpaper please head on over to her website here.