The history and development of currencies is a complex tale of adaptation, faith, and conceptualization.


From the Lydian stater and the Jiaozi (namely the first coin and the first bill issued by a government) up to their 21st-century analogs, the design of currencies has evolved parallelly, over time and across cultures.


On the other hand, the evolution of their value has been a much bumpier route. Its fluctuations have been plenty and heavy. But the deeper changes have taken place at a conceptual level.


Layer after layer of conceptualization, we have slowly moved away from commodity money, passed by representative money, and ended up with nowadays fiat money, the ultimate specimen of hard cash.


Surprising enough, we as a society have comprehended, accepted, and adopted every conceptual upgrade of our economic systems, by keeping up the faith in governments, banks, and payment companies.


Where there is faith, there is value, and value is an illusion.


Now, perhaps moved by the illusory state of the virtual world and fueled by the rise of contactless payments and cryptocurrencies, we are inevitably and unknowingly moving towards something we have experienced in the distant past: being a cashless society.


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Dollar series is an ongoing sculptural project that addresses, reflects upon, and questions the future of hard currencies such as the U.S Dollar, raising awareness on the consequences of abandoning its use.