You may have heard about New Orleans-born, Brooklyn-based tattoo artist Scott Campbell last year, when he made art world headlines for setting a bunch of his work on fire outside of his show at Mexico City’s Vice Gallery. What made the gesture such a big deal (aside from the fact that it was directed at Vice): Campbell makes his art out of money. Specifically, he laser cuts his intricate designs — of skulls, flowers, religious iconography, and the like — into sheets of bills that he sources directly from the US Mint. The resulting “sculptures,” which clearly offer up an interesting take on our consumer driven society, seem even more applicable in the current cultural climate. Click through for a slide show of his etched dollar bills, which we spotted thanks to CollaCubed, and let us know what you think of his work in the comments.
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell
Image credit: Scott Campbell