Description
This beautifully handwoven basket is from Bridget Kennedy’s ‘A Year Of Time 1:30’. Made from various textile threads and Philippine Pisos ($670 AUD).
A currency basket is a financial term for a portfolio of selected currencies with different weightings. Commonly used to minimise the risk of currency inflations, in this case it’s a mix of cold currency transactions handwoven into an item of beauty to minimise the risk of future financial hardship. The price of this piece reflects the wage of the average Australian artist for 73 hours and 49 minutes worth of work (including material costs).
For comparison:
Average Politician’s wage plus material costs: $13957
Average Australian wage plus material costs: $2692.05
Average Filipino wage plus material costs: $791.80
Time logged:
73 hours, 49minutes
‘A Year Of Time 1:30’ was an installation of small handheld woven basket-like objects, a physical manifestation of the observation of the passing of one calendar year, highlighting the labour of the handmade. A log of the minutes taken to stitch each object was kept, and a small silver disc with these details was stamped and attached to each object, every minute representing 30 minutes of time in a calendar year.