Rodrigo Torres

From the series Uns Trocados, cut and pasted banknotes, dimensions variable, 2010 

From the series Uns Trocados, cut and pasted banknotes, dimensions variable, 2010

From the series Uns Trocados, cut and pasted banknotes, dimensions variable, 2010

Poder, cut and pasted banknotes, dimensions variable, 2010 

Estádio Barcão, cut and pasted banknotes, dimensions variable, 2010 

Rodrigo Torres hails from Brazil, and has recently been gaining recognition for his collages compiled from meticulously cut banknotes from all over the world (some defunct, some still in use).  If you've never thought of currency as a work of art before, here's your chance to see what you've been overlooking.  

Torres cuts individual design elements from the notes -- intricately engraved portraits, patterns, flourishes, borders, etc. -- isolating each of these elements and transposing them into new situations to imbue them with entirely different meaning.  Proud chins thrust towards the horizon become sightless severed heads; applauding spectators become gleeful witnesses to gruesome battles; portraits of political and historical figures are obscured or ejected from their frames and replaced by more subtle symbols of national identity.  

In some of his pieces, Torres seems to hint at the relationships between money, corruption, and international power struggles, but he is at other times more concerned with displaying the craftsmanship so often overlooked as we go about our daily business with cash in hand.  To give you an idea of what I mean by craftsmanship: the printing of U.S. currency involves numerous engravers, each of whom specializes in a specific element of the design, such as text or portraiture.  I'm not entirely sure this applies elsewhere, but having considered the wide range of design elements used on the bills used in most countries, I'll assume it does.  With that in mind, Torres's work has the nice effect of liberating the individual artist's work from the collaborative whole and simply allowing us to appreciate the craft involved.

Torres studied painting at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro) and was nominated for the PIPA prize in 2011.  You can see more of his work on his Flickr page, and even hear a little bit about his process in this video posted on the PIPA website.