Inflation is the greatest financial magic trick in the history of the United States. The Federal Reserve prints crisp dollar bills, hoping you believe the amount conferred upon each unit of currency. You work hard over the years, spend wisely, and save your money, yet somehow the cost of everything continues to rise. What gives?
Mikael Colombu, under the persona Richard Trixson, delivers his reflection of these prevailing financial and cultural currents with his Old Money project. Colombu, known more for his creative alliances with icons like The Weeknd, Cee-Lo, and Drake, channels his artistic acumen here by shifting the spotlight from the glamour of entertainment to a more critical exploration of currency devaluation and the whims of economic policies. The series caricatures the spectacle of politics, embodied by shapeshifting characters such as presidents Xesserson and Lardazenas, who satirize the fluid identities of politicians and their opportunistic use of cultural motifs for votes and political leverage.
Here in the heart of Old Money, Colombu presents devalued currency notes, namely the 0.2 USD and the 0.0001 Peso bills. These currencies, reimagined through Trixson's artistic lens, signify the dire implications of economic negligence. The transformation of these dollar bills or peso bills into worthless scraps prompts meditation on the fleeting essence of value and the role of political figures in its stewardship.
Not everything is worthless in his mind, however. A theme in Colombu's work is his reverence for the lived journey of paper money—currency that has been marked and marred by its passage through time and hands. He reflects on the notion that as money changes hands, it collects narratives, turning into a historical mosaic that reflects a multitude of human experiences. Stains, rips, and random doodles on each bill tell stories of history, acts of defiance, or the simple wear of being uncared for, inadvertently turning currency into a canvas that displays a microcosm of life. The devalued notes are not just art pieces but relics, each carrying the vestiges of their unique odysseys and mirroring the decay of societal principles.
Colombu’s distinctive style of off-kilter realism, dubbed ‘Jankyvision’, amplifies the theatric resonance of Old Money. A great example of this aesthetic can be found in The Weeknd’s video, ‘The Knowing’. After years of refinement, ‘Jankyvision’ has become a powerful medium for Colombu’s incisive viewpoint on the nature of modern finance and the performance art of politics.
Old Money first came to life in the digital realm. However, it has since crossed over to the physical world with prints that are numbered, signed, stamped, and tracked. These high-resolution pieces are produced on 120x50 cm or 30x30 cm fine art paper, linking collectors directly to the artist's critical narrative, not just through ownership but a sensory relationship with the artwork. To print a bill you must own the digital, and only one print can exist of each bill in the collection.
The audience of Old Money encompasses a spectrum of individuals—from artists to intellectuals, from cultural commentators to the simply curious—all united in their appreciation of Colombu's insightful critique. This gathering of people - uncommonly connected to each other and to the artist through both digital spaces and in real life - signifies a broader movement towards art that incites active involvement and critical contemplation, promoting the integration of disparate voices into the discourse.
Colombu's Old Money stands at the vanguard of a novel artistic paradigm, interweaving the permanence of digital with the tangibility of traditional artistry. As the project grows it will continue to represent the confluence of money and power, the destruction of a nation’s wealth caused by a government’s greed or its inept politicians, where each piece of art is an invitation to reflect on our own complex experience with money or to question what money even is.
