David LaChapelle
Negative Currency: One Hundred North Korean Won used as Negative , 2025
In Negative Currency (1990–2025), David LaChapelle reimagines global banknotes through the lens of a photographic negative, transforming symbols of economic power into radiant, otherworldly icons. By overlapping the front and back of each bill, LaChapelle collapses traditional perspectives of value, authority, and design—exposing the fragility behind familiar emblems of stability.
Over the course of this ongoing project, he has explored iconic and widely circulated currencies including the U.S. dollar, Chinese yuan, Israeli shekel, Peruvian nuevo sol, and the euro. Now, LaChapelle introduces a new body of work centered on decommissioned or politically complex currencies from countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea. These additions lend the series a deeper socio-political resonance, subtly reflecting the tensions, hardships, and resilience embedded within these economies, without overt commentary or judgment.
Originally inspired by Andy Warhol’s One Dollar Bill (1962), LaChapelle continues the Pop tradition of exploring consumer culture, while pushing the medium toward a more spiritual and poetic dimension. The resulting prints evoke the luminous quality of precious stones, emerald, ruby, onyx, and opal, with a phosphorescent glow that renders each note at once seductive and surreal.
With Negative Currency, LaChapelle invites us to look again at what we take for granted, unveiling not just the beauty of currency, but the systems, histories, and contradictions it silently holds.
Over the course of this ongoing project, he has explored iconic and widely circulated currencies including the U.S. dollar, Chinese yuan, Israeli shekel, Peruvian nuevo sol, and the euro. Now, LaChapelle introduces a new body of work centered on decommissioned or politically complex currencies from countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and North Korea. These additions lend the series a deeper socio-political resonance, subtly reflecting the tensions, hardships, and resilience embedded within these economies, without overt commentary or judgment.
Originally inspired by Andy Warhol’s One Dollar Bill (1962), LaChapelle continues the Pop tradition of exploring consumer culture, while pushing the medium toward a more spiritual and poetic dimension. The resulting prints evoke the luminous quality of precious stones, emerald, ruby, onyx, and opal, with a phosphorescent glow that renders each note at once seductive and surreal.
With Negative Currency, LaChapelle invites us to look again at what we take for granted, unveiling not just the beauty of currency, but the systems, histories, and contradictions it silently holds.
DLC025/2025