Currency €xchange

Currency €xchange uses euro coins collected from the loose change received in purchases made in European shops. The embedded dirt from each coin is removed with a machine manufactured outside of the EU. The dirt is then transferred by hand onto over 2000 coins from countries that produce the products sold in EU shops. They become coated in black euro-dirt, concealing their surfaces. Each coin is mounted in a continuous, unbroken line on the walls of the gallery. A spotlight follows the line, as the ambient sound of a sweatshop fills the space. The transferal of currency-dirt presents the interwoven relationship between the European economy and the ambiguous, unseen labour that sustains it. Each coin is invisibilised by the liquidised dirt of the euro, reshaping their identity through the European market.

Currency €xchange was first installed in a solo exhibition at the Galway Arts Centre in 2021/2022. (Images Below)

Speaking with head of visual art at the Galway Arts Centre, Kevin discusses the foundations of his practice, and the work that lead to the exhibition, in the video above.