Money Talks: Art, Society & Power Catalogue

This exhibition catalogue accompanies the Money Talks: Art, Society & Power exhibition, held at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford between 9 Aug 2024 – 5 Jan 2025. This book aims to tell the story of social history through Money. Money and Art have shared a long history - both words are metaphors derived from Latin terms used over 2,000 years ago. 

Art and money have much in common. Both are surrounded by fluctuating ideas of value; and both can reflect the social, cultural, and political norms of the societies in which they originate. These two concepts are connected in other ways. Despite its functional form, money often starts life as an illustration or sculpture – commissioned to capture a contemporary figure, or to memorialise a given occasion – drawing on a wide range of creative skills, techniques, and inspirations. Mass-produced coins and notes become everyday artworks, immortalising people, events, and moments in time. In turn, art can serve to capture the place of money in society. Be it a portrait of a tax collector, a defaced note, a dress formed from banknotes, or designs for an alternative currency, art depicting or using money can make a statement on the political climate and reflect aspirations for change.

Money Talks: Art, Society and Power explores money from a global perspective, considering this concept through the examination of a variety of art objects. The roles played by the commissioning process, technology, politics, and satire are discussed in essays by various leading scholars. Meanwhile, an ‘objects in focus’ series highlights specific objects from the exhibition that this book accompanies, examining them with an eye to the themes of money, society and power. Together, they expose the tension between the power of money and the playfulness of art to reveal fascinating social, cultural, and political narratives.

The catalogue contains 30 black and white illustrations, and 120 colour illustrations.