“The profound structural analogy between art and money is that each represents an instance of self-valorising value, insofar as both are social mediations which are anchored in a self-referential or reflexive circuit of valorisation—critical value in art is generated from transactions within its semantic domain, much as in speculative finance (or “fictitious capital,” in Marx‘s terms) money generates more money through transactions internal to financial markets. This homology, revealing both art and money as marked by the nebulousness and reflexivity of value claims, has been picked up by artists who collide so-called “critical value” with “capital value” in works exploring the social and formal correspondences between works of art and money.”
—Marina Vishmid
Berger, who’s site-specific practice thematise and problematise art as commerce, turns the object of commerce-coin-into art. “BOURSE;” Latin for purse, Norwegian for Børs, puts on show Berger’s production budget of 5000 Norwegian Krone in the former bank-turned-gallery, keeping its former name —Centralbanken. The budget-cum-artwork exists in a state of loan; if the artwork remains unsold, the coins will again be converted back into digital currency. Petty cash, of course, being worthless in modern society. Coming full transactional circle, the conversion of this budget-art once again turns into capital, invested into a future production by Berger, who creates her own second-hand market.
at Centralbanken, Oslo
until July 13, 2024