Change, 2011- , double-faced coins | The Pump House Gallery, London
'Change'
is a potentially extendable series of custom-made, double-faced coins
of various international currencies, available on request for discretionary
and geographically specific use by employees of institutions worldwide.
The coins to date include 50 USA cents, two British pence, 500 Japanese
yen, two Swiss francs, two Indian rupees, five Russian rubles, one European
Union euro, one United Arab Emirates dirham, one British pound and one
Chinese yuan. 'Change' acknowledges the potential duplicity required by
art institutions to survive within the current climate of ideologically
motivated fiscal austerity. Gallery staff are invited to deploy the coins
during bartering, backhand deals, bets and gambles, appeals to chance
and other jeopardous negotiations during which the odds might be weighed
in favour of the gallery’s financial, cultural or even metaphysical
wellbeing.
"Jonathan Allen's project 'Change [The Pump House Gallery, London]'
whimsically questions the motivations and decision-making procedures for
public art galleries. By providing a set of double-faced coins, important
bets on this and other galleries futures can be weighted in one's favour.
Allen implies that bending the rules and a cunning sleight of hand are
pre-requisites for success in the current climate of arts funding"
Nick Aikens, Curator