According to Value (Ad Valorem)
A single penny can’t buy you much, but in accumulation, its value becomes more significant. Money becomes material. With such high inflation, its highest value comes from it being a raw material.
Composed of everyday domestic items encrusted with pennies, the series visually embodies the tension between perceived value and actual cost, symbolizing monetary exchange alongside the broader concept of valuation, particularly when it is arbitrarily or bureaucratically assigned, as in taxes. At a time when a penny is nearly worthless in terms of purchasing power, its use as a surface material subverts its utilitarian purpose, transforming it into a symbol of systemic erosion—the invisible toll of economic policy.
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Year: 2021-2024
Medium: One-cent coins on cereal box, epoxy
Dimensions: 10” x 2.75” x 13”
