CULTURE CLUB
DEFACED! Money has been a hot topic of late. With its value in flux and the format in which we exchange it constantly evolving, currency is a barometer for our times – making it an excellent vehicle for political dissent. The Fitzwilliam Museum’s latest exhibition, Defaced! Money, Conflict, Protest , offers a look at how money has been punched, scratched, engraved, overprinted and digitally manipulated over a 250-year history of protest. It explores the stories behind these ‘attacks’ on money, taking the viewer on a whirlwind tour – from the French and American Revolutions, to the First World War, the Troubles in Northern Ireland and the Black Lives Matter movement. Defaced! has been curated by Richard Kelleher, who in 2018 received an Art Fund New Collecting Award that allowed him to build a collection of monetary objects related to conflict, revolution, dissent and war. “I was able to acquire over 650 objects in total, the earliest from 1745 and the latest from 2022,” he explains. “A significant chunk of this was a collection of politically defaced coins from the past 250 years, acquired over a period of 40 years. It would not have been possible for me to bring together this quantity and variety of material during the two-year collecting project, so this is important in terms of the exhibition, but also for future research.” The display celebrates the collecting project and its new acquisitions, while contextualising them with supporting artworks by the likes of James Gillray, kennardphillipps, Stik and Banksy. “People enjoy exhibitions in different ways, so reactions will vary,” notes Richard. “ Defaced! uses money objects to show how the state manipulates money in times of crisis – during THE FITZWILLIAM MUSEUM
GIGS
wartime, sieges, etc – and how the individual defaces money as a form of protest, messaging or a cry for help.” True to the disruptive nature of the objects on display, the exhibition space deliberately subverts our expectations of what a museum should look like. Created by theatre designer Tom Piper and architect Alan Farlie, the rooms of the exhibition provide a thematic backdrop. “The first room has a street feel, with concrete and scaffold poles, OSB board and graffiti, while the second has a gallery feel with a large central installation,” explains Richard. “The first section of room three feels enclosed and confined – in keeping with the idea of a siege or prison camp – and then opens up into a white cube gallery space beyond.” The exhibition even conceals some explosive surprises: “The real stand-out of the show for me has to be the Big Bang 2 project,” says Richard. “This was a project based in Walthamstow by artist Hilary Powell and filmmaker Dan Edelstyn that made money-like artworks. It raised funds for the four local causes depicted on the notes and helped to buy out local payday loan debt. I think I like it because it’s more than an artistic commentary on a societal problem; it provided a way to raise awareness, while doing something practical to alleviate the problem.” Defaced! is free to visit and open until 8 January 2023. To find out more or book tickets in advance, head to fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
ELEPHANT SESSIONS 1 DECEMBER
Cambridge Junction, 7pm, £19 DAFT FUNK LIVE 2 DECEMBER Storey’s Field Centre, 7pm, £13.20 ELIZA CARTHY & THE RESTITUTION 5 DECEMBER Cambridge Junction, 7pm, £29 JESCA HOOP 8 DECEMBER Storey’s Field Centre, 7pm, £20.35 THE TRIALS OF CATO 9 DECEMBER Cambridge Junction, 7pm, £18
MAKES THE WORLD GO ROUND Defaced! charts 250 years of money and protest in a unique way
16 DECEMBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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