The proposal for My First Million Dollars reflects on the value of printed money, a validated fiction that serves to establish an exchange mechanism based solely on the subjective belief that it will be accepted by those who comprise a country or an economic zone as a means of exchange. To emphasize the absurdity of the pact created around the tax value of money, I’ve come up with the total sum of 16,800,000 Intis which are the precise equivalence of one million US dollars on the day I was born.
The paradox of the project is that the Inti (the official currency of the Republic of Peru between 1985 and 1991), is a discontinued monetary unit which also suffered massive inflation that showered misery to hundreds of citizens following the crisis of 1985. The million dollar figure serves as a reflection on the collective imagery revolving around money and its relationship with social success.
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“An expression of the disaster we received (from the previous government) is that five years ago with this bill (500,000 Intis), one could have bought a house for $40,000. At best, today it will do for a tube of toothpaste…”
Juan Carlos Hurtado Miller
Peruvian Minister of Economy, 1990-91
| Seen at | |
| Veintitantos, primeros tiempos CAB Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Burgos | 2014 Burgos, ES |
| Financial Crimes. Poètica en l’era del colonialisme financer Espai Dos. Sala Muncunill | 2013 Terrasa, ES |