digital silver-prints and text, variable size
more... This project started with the question of what a contemporary equivalent of this very modernist notion of the flâneur might be, by assuming that times have moved on since Baudelaire, or Walter Benjamin and his critique of capitalism. Modernism and capitalism are historically intertwined; however, late capitalism is marked with an unprecedented cynicism, illustrated by invisible power dynamics and capital regulating any aspect of life and culture, including politics, education, religion, aesthetics, welfare, international dialogues, etc.
Through its association to ‘invisible money’ and credit, capital as a notion relating to monetary investment has become increasingly abstract. Yet, in contemporary imagination capital is intertwined with notions of happiness, wellbeing, and creativity. In a similar way, money in the form of coins and notes has started loosing ground to online banking systems and contactless transactions. A new habit, which is particularly noticeable in London, is people discarding small change when it is dropped. Coins lay bare on the street, often a few feet away from a rough sleeper.
The project was going to be about a contemporary version of flânerie, where the contemporary artist would wander around the street with the single aim of identifying discarded coins. This is a symbolic act that aims at the redirection of desire, from capital as an abstract notion, to tangible representations of perceived value. The walks have no time limit, and also allow artists to clear their head from the difficulties arising from funding cuts that have significantly changed the landscape in the arts in the UK. The images in this submission contain some coins found so far through my individual walks.
The project was instigated on the 21st of March 2016, and will last until the 21 of March 2017. After this, the money collected, will be donated to individuals, who have no other choice than wandering on the streets.