A MAJOR EXHIBITION EXPLORING CURRENCY HAS OPENED IN OXFORD
As banknotes featuring King Charles III start to circulate – they were issued for the first time in June – a major exhibition has opened at Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum exploring the relationship between currency and art.
Money Talks: Art, Society & Power offers an insight into the painstaking process and creativity involved in the production of money as well as considering the future of currency in the wake of technological advances.
Featuring more than 100 objects from around the globe, the exhibition presents rare coins and banknotes – plus the original coinage portrait of Charles III, designed by acclaimed British sculptor Martin Jennings – alongside artworks by Rembrandt, Andy Warhol, Grayson Perry, Bansky and one of our very own Loughran Gallery artists, Chris Levine.
The Chris Levine studio loaned a £100 Jersey banknote featuring Levine’s royal portrait, Equanimity, to the exhibition. The banknote was first released in 2012 in honour of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
Equanimity was the first holographic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II. It was made by Levine with holographer Rob Munday. Two sittings took place and over 10,000 images were made to make the image appear three dimensional.
Chris Levine says: “When I was commissioned to create Equanimity, I set out to make an iconic work, a portrait that would sit alone in Jersey’s Mont Orgueil Castle. I had no idea it would become such an historic work and be so loved around the world. It was a surreal moment when I first saw the portrait on this banknote. It’s a great honour.”
Money Talks also explores how the everyday artworks in our pockets act as a mirror to our society. The exhibition is open now until 5 January 2025. Tickets can be booked online here.
