«Dnipro is offices»

More than 3,000 years ago, Egyptian scribes drew a scene in the Book of the Dead: a dead person's heart on one pan of a scale, the feather of Ma'at, the symbol of what is right, on the other. In 1907 a bronze Lady Justice with scales and sword went up on the dome of the Old Bailey in London. Weighing right against wrong is one of the oldest pictures we have. I wanted to make money wall art that puts cash on the scale, and that is where this painting starts.

A bearded man with dark hair stands in a black judge's robe against gold. His face is cut into strips that slip out of place. One hand holds up a golden scale by a small flame-shaped ornament. On one pan lies a thick stack of $100 bills. On the other lie open black iron shackles. The robe is painted in long, glossy streaks of black and grey, and the gold behind is rough and raised. Thin chart lines labelled CNY and ETH cross the top, and blocks of blue, green, red and yellow sit on the left.

The title is short and blunt. Nothing in the picture shows a city: no river, no skyline. I see a robe, a scale, money on one side and chains on the other. To me the title says that this weighing happens at desks, in offices. That is why it works as statement wall art over a desk.

Warhol painted his Dollar Signs from 1981. I wanted a heavier, darker version, with a nod to Mondrian in the colour blocks.

The original pop art painting is 120 x 90 cm, oil and acrylic on canvas, 2022, from my collection SCAM. As mixed media wall art it is thick with texture, and it is money wall art with no easy answer. Most of my original paintings are already in private collections, but I paint originals to order in any size. To ask about this one, message me on Instagram or by email. A hand-finished lithograph of it also exists; you can order it via Instagram or email.