Facebank
"Creativity is the stock in which I am investing all my energy; reacting to the economic crisis by fighting it with ideas that can bend its negative gravitational field is my daily and long term goal.
Facebank is the tangible sign of a first positive result."
title: Facebank Wall (Abraham Lincoln + Mao Zedong + Queen Elizabeth)
The economic crisis and the creative response
Arriving on the sly, it occurred quite suddenly. We all imagined it would be a short-lived phenomenon, but it never completely abandoned us. Although over the years resolutive formulas were suggested and potentially healing recipes were put in place, the fact is, we have had to learn to live with this persistent idea.Even I had an immediate chance to feel the effects in my vicinity, my work with institutions and publishers suddenly became complicated and outdated, I gathered information and read texts that tried to put in focus what was happening.
The book that most influenced the way I deal with this condition is "Overcoming the Crisis" by Jaques Attali. The author's phrase, "turn the missing element into a source of progress," refers to a change in one's view point that can empower creativity, and it holds a huge potential. For the first time I saw creativity as a real tool, connected to other words such as Empathy, Resilience, Intensity - with which it takes on even more vigor and awareness.
Suddenly, I found myself quickly rotating around the opponent (the crisis) like a boxer trying to find a weak point while slowly losing his breath, watching as closely as a banker who studies a bank note to verify its authenticity. After the first project in 2011 "Reflections", still linked to the texture of a banknote and how this can parallel a therapy session to the global economic system, came "Facebank".
Just like the powers of superheroes are born in extreme, critical conditions, "Facebank" is the creative response to the global economic crisis.
title: Catbank (Queen Elizabeth)
title: Spiderbank (Abraham Lincoln + Mao Zedong)
title: Wolwbank (Mao Zedong + Queen Elizabeth)
title: Jokerbank (Abraham Lincoln + Mao Zedong + Queen Elizabeth)
Super Banknotes to overcome the crisis
In this project I blended some of the faces depicted on banknotes which, like a genetic mutation, have given rise to these imaginary currencies. My feeling is that now neither the central banks nor the finance world experts know what might be the solution to the current economic crisis, so there is no other choice but to ask imaginary help from superheroes...
Reflection / Provocation
All of this is a game - I hope that no one will be offended and fortunately this has not yet happened. It is the banknote as object/symbol of the global economy and the markets which interest me, not the 'political' figures which are depicted on it, nor to ridicule the look or comment on the history
I simply cut and superimposed details of the faces depicted on banknotes as they are (only Abraham Lincoln was flipped from right to left). Some details were added to create a gold leaf effect sufficient to activate the collective imagination of the comicbook world.
Like other things I've done and I'm developing it is not to be an accusation, but a provocation, which I hope will bring first a smile and afterwards contemplation. The metaphors that everything can contain is for the free interpretation of the viewer.
title: Doombank (Abraham Lincoln + Mao Zedong)
title: Capbank (Mao Zedong)
A mix of world market identities
The creative input that generated Facebank was an almost accidental discovery: the faces of ABRAHAM LINCOLN, QUEEN ELIZABETH and MAO TSE-TUNG depicted on banknotes are built on a nearly identical structure, as a "superior" design shared by three world markets: Asia (Yuan), America (Dollar), United Kingdom (Pound). All three faces are threequarter portraits and this similarity allows them to overlap.
I had a metaphor for the globalization of the markets in my hands! From this I started to create hybrid faces using different faces from many banknotes.
Masks and ideal currencies
Only after realizing various collages using faces did I have the idea to cite superheroes (suggested by my son's observations) using the metaphor of the mask. In "Facebank" the currencies and characters depicted above behave like the personal profiles that all of us "construct" on social networks: they rarely depict what we are, but rather they emulate what we would ideally like to be, imitating ideal models and boasting faculties that go far beyond reality.
title: Ironbank (Abraham Lincoln + Mao Zedong)
title: Batbank (Abraham Lincoln + Mao Zedong)
title: Flashbank (Abraham Lincoln + Mao Zedong)
Digital Collage
Technically, "Facebank" comes from a scan of the faces in question as they are reproduced on banknotes. Using these I then create a digital file in layers. Once the faces overlap, if I delete a particular on one of them there will always be another's anatomical particular which coincides perfectly underneath. This allows me to use the faces almost exclusively as colors (taking from the authentic color and size of the different banknotes) and always have a hybrid face whatever cut is made.
In addition to the original images of the banknotes, which I did not want to change, I only added elements of gold to highlight the minimal particulars which are characteristic of the superheroes that I wanted to bring up.
There is no original material, the digital works can only be printed, and only thus acquire value. Just like authentic banknotes, I will try to print only a few copies to escape inflation! This is my currency to exit from the financial crisis and to stimulate the creation of other works.
Limited edition prints >>>
Photo: by Enrico Lanari
