Angela Mathis Transforms Money Into Fabric

October 12, 2015

Value Project by Angela Mathis

Photography by Manno

 

As part of her graduation project ‘Value’, London-based designer Angela Mathis has recycled old decommissioned money to create a fabric that can be used for various upholstery needs, such as these stools.

 

Value Project by Angela Mathis

Photography by Manno

The description from the designer:

Without their given value, any paper bill is worth nothing more than its material composition; a mix of cotton and linen. The average life of a note is scarcely more than 18 months, after which it is decommissioned and burned. As the world’s economic heavyweights progress further, what will become of money as we know it? Money is, in itself, nothing more than a piece of paper or a shiny coin.

Value Project by Angela Mathis

Photography © Angela Mathis

The economies of the world give currencies form, but their tangibility isn’t necessary for their assigned values. Furthermore digitalization continues to take over the concept of how, and with what, the world buys, sells, and trades.

Value Project by Angela Mathis

Photography © Angela Mathis

In her graduation project, ‘value’, London based designer Angela Mathis used their material advantage and adapted old notes to serve a new purpose, forming a diverse textile collection capable of being applied to various upholstery needs. The work is presented in a series of stools, each containing combinations of various currencies: the American dollar, the purple English pound, brown Indonesian rupees, and the color dense euro.

Value Project by Angela Mathis

Photography © Angela Mathis