Der Euro des Kaukasus
and Portrait of Europa
Diptych
video installation with a split-screen
video, color, sound, 12′ 20″
2019 hand-made Azerbaijani carpet
wool, silk
300 x 200 cm
2020
In collaboration with:
Robert Kalina, Vienna, Austria.
YARAT Contemporary Art Space, Baku, Azerbaijan.
Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto
Biella, Italy.
Zili ART - Creator of the new path Baku, Azerbaijan
EN
“Cessa i singhiozzi, e a ben portare un’alta Fortuna impara: recherà il diviso Orbe il tuo nome”.
Orazio, Odi III 27, vv. 75-76
Der Euro des Kaukasus (The Euro of the Caucasus) is a single-channel video installation with a split-screen, created in 2019 and presented at the conclusion of a residency in Baku (Azerbaijan) at YARAT Contemporary Art Space, promoted by Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto (Biella). The work explores three fundamental elements in the construction of political and economic power — architecture, monuments, and money — and how they contribute to shaping national and transnational identities.
“Cessa i singhiozzi, e a ben portare un’alta Fortuna impara: recherà il diviso Orbe il tuo nome”.
Stop sobbing and learn to accept your good fortune: a part of the world will be named after you.
Orazio, Odi III 27, vv. 75-76
Der Euro des Kaukasus (The Euro of the Caucasus) is a single-channel video installation with a split-screen, created in 2019 and presented at the conclusion of a residency in Baku (Azerbaijan) at YARAT Contemporary Art Space, promoted by Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto (Biella). The work explores three fundamental elements in the construction of political and economic power — architecture, monuments, and money — and how they contribute to shaping national and transnational identities.
The left side of the video, filmed primarily between Vienna and Baku, centers on an interview with Robert Kalina, the Austrian designer of the euro and Azerbaijani manat banknotes. In the opening section, Kalina explains the visual and symbolic features of the euro, focusing on the European Central Bank’s intention to create, through currency, a collective imaginary capable of unifying the member states. Subsequently, Kalina’s voice-over describes the Azerbaijani manat: in the early 2000s, he was commissioned by the Azerbaijani government to design the new currency, with the aim of producing a banknote visually aligned with the euro.
The right side of the video is devoted primarily to footage of abandoned Soviet-era monuments and architecture, often inhabited by stray dogs and cats, filmed across several former Soviet bloc countries — Hungary, Bulgaria, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The two sections of the video enter into a dialogue, juxtaposing the utopian architectures depicted on the euro with the decaying structures of the former socialist bloc, and narrating, through Kalina’s voice, the political and economic unification project of the European continent.
For the solo exhibition Per Tina (Steirischer Herbst Parallel Program, 2020), Der Euro des Kaukasus was presented in dialogue with Portrait of Europa, a 300 × 200 cm hand-woven carpet made in Azerbaijan.
The work reproduces an enlargement of a detail approximately 2 × 1 cm taken from a €10 banknote: the face of the mythological figure Europa, a recurring element across euro banknotes (except for the €500 note), surrounded by the decorative motifs typical of the currency.
Europa’s face is the only anthropomorphic element present on euro banknotes and appears subtly in two locations: within the silver hologram — from which the detail for the carpet is derived — and in the watermark. Both features are part of the banknote’s anti-counterfeiting security system.
IT
Orazio, Odi III 27, vv. 75-76
“Cessa i singhiozzi, e a ben portare un’alta Fortuna impara: recherà il diviso Orbe il tuo nome”.
Smettila di
singhiozzare ed impara ad accettare la tua fortuna: una parte del
mondo prenderà da te il nome.
Orazio, Odi III 27, vv. 75-76
Der
Euro des Kaukasus (l’Euro del Caucaso) è una video installazione a canale singolo con schermo diviso, realizzata nel 2019 e presentata al termine di una residenza a Baku (Azerbaigian) presso YARAT Contemporary Art Space, promossa da Cittadellarte – Fondazione Pistoletto (Biella). L’opera esplora tre elementi fondamentali nella costruzione del potere politico ed economico — architetture, monumenti e denaro — e il modo in cui essi contribuiscono alla definizione di identità nazionali e transnazionali.
Il video a sinistra, girato principalmente tra Vienna e Baku, si sviluppa attorno a un’intervista a Robert Kalina, designer austriaco delle banconote in euro e del manat azero. Nella parte iniziale, Kalina illustra le caratteristiche visive e simboliche dell’euro, soffermandosi sull’intento della Banca Centrale Europea di creare, attraverso la moneta, un immaginario collettivo capace di unificare i paesi membri. Successivamente, la voce fuori campo di Kalina descrive il manat azero: nei primi anni 2000, fu incaricato dal governo dell’Azerbaigian di progettare la nuova valuta, con l’obiettivo di realizzare un moneta visivamente affine all’euro.
Il video a destra è dedicato principalmente a riprese di monumenti e architetture sovietiche abbandonate, spesso popolate da cani e gatti randagi, girate in diverse aree dell’ex blocco sovietico — Ungheria, Bulgaria, Georgia e Azerbaigian. Le due parti del video entrano in dialogo tra loro, confrontando le architetture utopiche rappresentate sull’euro con le strutture in disfacimento dell’ex blocco socialista e raccontando, attraverso la voce di Kalina, il progetto di unificazione politica ed economica del continente europeo.
In occasione della mostra personale Per Tina (Steirischer Herbst Parallel Program, 2020), Der Euro des Kaukasus è stato messo in dialogo con Portrait of Europa, un tappeto di 300 × 200 cm realizzato a mano in Azerbaigian.L’opera riproduce un ingrandimento di un dettaglio di circa 2 × 1 cm tratto da una banconota da 10 euro: il volto del mito di Europa, elemento ricorrente nella cartamoneta europea (ad eccezione della banconota da 500 €). L’immagine è circondata dai motivi decorativi tipici delle banconote.Il volto di Europa costituisce l’unico elemento antropomorfo presente nelle banconote in euro ed è visibile in modo discreto in due punti: nell’ologramma argentato — da cui è tratto il dettaglio utilizzato per il tappeto — e nella filigrana. Entrambi fanno parte dei dispositivi di sicurezza anti-contraffazione.
Signature of Robert Kalina on 5 Euro and 1 Manat banknotes, 2019.
Ryts Monet, Der Euro des Kaukasus, video stills, 2019.
Europa and the Bull, vase, 360 B.C., Louvre Museum, Paris (originally from Taranto).
The portrait detail of Europa depicted on this vase was adopted as both the watermark
and the silver stripe design in the second series of Euro banknotes.
Detail of a 10 Euro banknote (2nd series) that was reproduced on the carpet.
Ryts Monet, Portrait of Europa, hand-made Azerbaijani carpet, wool and silk, 300 x 200 cm, 2020.
Workers during the production of Portrait of Europa, photo documentation.
This image has been used for the invitation card of Per Tina, a solo show as part of the Steirischer Herbst Parallel Program,
QL Gallery, Graz, Austria, 2020.
The carpet Portrait of Europa was entirely hand-woven in Azerbaijan by local artisans during the spring and summer of 2020
at the Zili Art carpet factory in Baku. Zili Art, like many other local carpet manufacturers,
produces numerous carpets each year, which are sold on the global luxury market.
Portrait of Europa and Der Euro des Kaukasus, installation views at Per Tina, Steirischer Herbst Parallel Program, QL Gallery, Graz, Austria, 2020.