Money Paper

‘The medium is the message’ - Marshall Mcluhan

I’ve been experimenting with idea of making paint out of money.

In theory, it’s simple. Cut a polymer banknote down to dust, to make a kind of plastic pigment, then add a gel medium to turn it into paint. Mimicking how conventional paint is made.

In practice, it’s a little more difficult.

So far, I’ve tried shedding notes in a paper shredder. Chopping them in an electric herb grinder. and crushing them in mortar and pestle. To no avail.

Plastic is not solid is the main problem. It physically bends around a blade when it is hit with force.

I turned to the recycling industry, and found a process called ‘Cryogenic milling’, where the plastic is blasted with liquid nitrogen and effectively transformed into a solid state for long enough to be cut down.

There are some industrial places that do this, but they deal in kilograms grams of banknotes.

While trying to figure out the paint, I worked Rog at Dodgy Paper, to make some ‘cash paper’ which is interesting in itself.

If you know can help me out please send me an email.