In this exhibition, Vancouver-based artist and independent publisher Ho Tam presents a series of collage-based works emerging from his fascination with the engraved illustrations on bank notes, and their loaded symbolism. In a playful yet critical intervention, Tam cuts and splices graphic elements found on currencies from around the world, remixing nationalistic signifiers to deflate their implicit power while proposing new possibilities.

In the following artist statement, Tam explains his motivations, his process, and the meanings behind his composite works.

“In order to make the collages, I collected images from international banknotes for two years before the actual creative process. Besides the “face values,” I am also interested in all the symbols and landscapes in the backgrounds, which represent the different countries. These representations are often one-sided, chosen from the point of view of the people in office. As money is directly connected to power in many contexts, the collages became an exploration of issues such as the imbalance in wealth distribution and the inequality among us.

“By making collages based on images extracted from banknotes, I try to liberate the images from their original contexts to create new narratives and commentaries that reflect on the relationships between the world and us. The collages are naïve, juvenile, strange, poignant and sometimes just foolish. Imagining a universe without limitations, they are my attempt to alter our existing concept of power in search of possibilities and contemplation.”

• Ho Tam (b. Hong Kong) is a media/visual artist who has worked in advertising and community psychiatry. He received a BA from McMaster University and an MFA from Bard College (NY). From 1996 to 1997, he was a participant at the Whitney Museum Independent Study Program. Tam has exhibited in public galleries and alternative spaces across Canada. Over 15 of his experimental film/video works are in circulation. Tam is also the publisher of Hotam Press, an independent press of artist books, and currently runs a bookshop and gallery of the same name. Ho Tam lives in Vancouver, BC and has been exhibiting at Paul Petro Contemporary Art since 2002.