Memory of currency貨幣の記憶
2018-
Shells, 4K videos, inkjet prints
The project Memory of Currency is an attempt to create money fossils—links between modern currencies and seashells, which were used as currency before modern times. Inomata inserts a small nucleus—a foreign body—into an oyster shell. Each nucleus is modeled on the portrait of a person used as a symbol on national currency, such as George Washington, Queen Elizabeth, or Yukichi Fukuzawa, Inside the shell, the oyster covers the portrait with nacre, creating a pearl in the shape of the individual. The fusing of currency (manmade) with oysters (non-manmade) results in the emergence of a new kind of currency that is inseparable from a natural species. It leaves us contemplating the possibility that these works could one day be rediscovered as fossils by future humans.
プロジェクト「貨幣の記憶」は、近代以前には貨幣としても使用された貝殻を現代の通貨と結びつけ「貨幣の化石」を作りだす試みです。真珠貝に福沢諭吉、エリザベス女王、ジョージ・ワシントンなど、諸国の通貨を象徴する人物像を型取った小さな核を挿入し、真珠質が核の表面を覆うことで人物の形の真珠が出来上がります。人が作り出したものではない自然の貝殻と人が作り出す通貨とが融合されることで、自然種と一体となった貨幣があらたに出現します。それは、未来の人類によって〈化石〉として再発見される可能性すら、私たちに予感させます。
Courtecy of Seimei Tanaka, Takahiro Ishido・Yukino Kowaki・Keigo Yanagida (Hirota Site Museum), Kishin Himori・Asuka Taniyama・Hirohiro Koyamada (Space Art Tanegashima)
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi
Photo: Hayato Wakabayashi