Inflation

Author: Naivy Pérez

Title: Inflation

Year: 2021

Genre: Net Art

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STATEMENT

Inflation confronts and reflects on the intricate games of value in our society, using thirty virtual currencies as its medium. Furthermore, it invites an exploration into how and who determines “value” in the various aspects of our existence.

The piece questions the foundations of “valuation”. In the world of art, the price of a work can be as elusive and abstract as inflation in the economy. Inflation goes beyond the economic phenomenon, critiquing the way we “value” our time and efforts in society. What determines an individual’s hourly wage? Is it a fair reflection of their skill and effort, or simply the outcome of ingrained economic and social structures?

The currencies in Inflation evoke the volatile behavior of current cryptocurrencies, but with a twist: their value is intrinsically linked to time, that irreplaceable resource. In doing so, the piece discusses the illusory nature of wealth in an overvalued global economy, and how wealth perception can often be a mere mirage.

The subtle reference to Judas’s thirty pieces of silver imbues the work with ethical and moral connotations, suggesting a critique of how, in our obsessive pursuit of wealth and recognition, we often betray what is truly valuable.