Power does not exist independently. It is built over time through countless individual acts of labor, trust, sacrifice, and belief. As these contributions accumulate, they are gradually absorbed into institutions that appear permanent, stable, and self-sustaining.

In Absorption, a monumental architectural form rises from an immense field of shredded currency. Each fragment once represented individual value. Gathered together, they lose their separate identity and become part of something larger—a structure whose authority seems unquestionable, yet exists only because of what has been continuously given to it.

I use shredded banknotes because they reveal a paradox. Although their monetary value has been destroyed, they continue to carry the memory of human effort and exchange. Removed from circulation, they become a material through which invisible systems of power can be made visible.

Absorption marks the point in Portraits of Invisible Power where authority no longer needs to impose itself. It endures by continuously absorbing human value until the source of that power can no longer be distinguished from the institution itself.

Medium: Acrylic and shredded currency on stretched canvas
Dimensions: 24 × 36 × 2 in.