Dominik Rudasz

Avida Dollars
animation, LED screen, 2014

The title of the installation Avida Dollars, which means “greedy for dollars”, originally referred to Salvador Dali as an anagram of his name and surname coined by André Breton to reflect Dali’s commercial approach to artistic practice.
Dominik Rudasz discerns a similar aspect in the condition of this part of Wrzeszcz – the junction of Partyzantów and Grunwaldzka Streets – which is an artery that gathers numerous banks or the iconic Dollar House with apartments bought for foreign currency, which was possible thanks to illegal money changers in Poland under Communism. The LED board is located on a historical currency exchange office with the shopping mall Manhattan in the background.
Avida Dollars is a proposal to create a temporary ironic altar in honour of consumption. The adoration of the golden calf reflects the current “spirit of the city”, where developers, instant profit, or shopping malls determine the shape of the district.
A visualisation of stock exchange quotes in the background refers also to the figure of the contemporary sage, who is more and more found to be a financial analyst, and his wiseman’s glass and eye support only fail-safe and profitable projects.
The work is a critical reference to simple mechanisms and forces that shape contemporary cities.

 

Dominik Rudasz (b. 1977), lives and works in Gdańsk.
He deals theoretically and practically with socially engaged art, activities in public space, cultural animation and education. His main area of interest is the impact of art on social and political reality.
Graduate in philosophy and art history of the University of Gdańsk. PhD student at the Philological Doctoral Studies at the University of Gdańsk. Between 2012 and 2014, resident of the Artists’ Colony. Co-organiser with CCA Łaźnia (2009-2014) of educational-artistic projects, including Reanimation of Space, aimed at revitalising the Lower City in Gdańsk.