The initial concept for this series was based on the adage “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”.  While working on a large and valuable Warhol exhibition, I took all of the wrapping material that was initially used to safely transport these works to exhibition.  Once their purpose was served, they became mounds of cardboard for disposal.  I moved this material to my studio where (giving props to Warhol’s dollar signs and repeated objects and imagery not to mention the current value of his work) I began turning the scraps into money and symbols of success (dollar signs on bulky gold chains, ridiculously large diamonds and pearls, stacks of gold bricks and piles of cash). 

 

The result is a fictitious and temporary amassing of wealth. Although the works are ostentatious they are just a false show of success; a fantasy.  The reality becomes the surrounding conversation (“I make so much money…the more I make the more I want to make”); this bravado and false representation only exaggerates the lack of money.  The bundles of cash carry a second symbol as they are made from art, porn, fashion and architectural magazines; they embody everything we desire and would pay money for.  The material is fleeting and worthless but the icon is irresistible.