Alberto Echegaray (Cayman)

Alberto Echegaray (Cayman)

Alberto Echegaray Guevara (or Cayman) is an artist and entrepreneur from Argentina, he currently lives and works in Buenos Aires, Argentina. His works explore ancient symbolism, monetary systems and the future of transactional platforms through creating a hybrid relationship between money, technology and universal codes. The projects he produces are created to establish a point of balance between information overload, technology and human sensibility for the creation of collective conciousness. Alberto tries to create a dialogue between nature and technology, a perfect combination of knowledge and intuition, science fiction and natural interacitvity. He holds a Masters in Policy Management (Georgetown University), Graduate of the Ecole Nationale d’ Administration Paris, France and has a Management Diploma from Harvard University. He also holds a BA in International Relations from Westpoint and the Argentina’s Military Academy. He is a former cavalry officer in the Argentine army.

  • My artistic practice is tied to the hidden influence of the global monetary systems, and the effect of consumerism on spiritual values. I have produced site specific sculptures, video-art installations and collages that examine and deconstruct the relationship between society and money.My artwork reflects my fascination with ancient symbols and sacred geometry, the future of currencies and modern society’s obsession with material wealth. In the end, paper money is an optical illusion created by governments and people. 

     

    Searching for historical context, I conducted a research inside the Secret Archives of the Vatican, the Museo Real de Sevilla, the Real Casa de Potosi, the Temple of Freemasonry in Washington DC, the European Central Bank, the US Federal Reserve and the US National Archives supported by experts in history and symbolism from Cambridge, Oxford and Harvard University. 

     

    I choose the best materials available to make the art pieces, including blown glass from Murano, Italy and the most important global currencies and noble metals available in different corners of the planet, such as gold, silver, platinum and steel. "

  • The concept of this work began to develop around 2010. The first time it was presented was in 2012. Between...
    The concept of this work began to develop around 2010. The first time it was presented was in 2012. Between 2010 and 2012, the Federal Reserve approved the initial 2 million dollars to carry out the project. What the artwork contains is as follows: it consists of $100 bills. Each bill weighs 1 gram, adding up to a total of precisely 10 kilograms of $100 bills within the sphere. To achieve this, the volume of the sphere was measured, and the necessary materials were carefully selected. We opted for the best materials available, including Murano glass, manufactured in Italy through blowing. For this reason, the sphere has an imperfection at the top of the glass, while the rest of what you see is polished aluminum
  • At the base, we can appreciate a prophecy in Latin about the world made by Isaac Newton. He worked extensively...

    At the base, we can appreciate a prophecy in Latin about the world made by Isaac Newton. He worked extensively with symbolism, and as we know, money all around the world is laden with symbolism. From the earliest coins used by the Greeks and Egyptians, through gold and silver coins, and mixed coins due to wars, even copper coins. In the case of the dollar, a fundamental symbol worldwide is the "S" with a vertical bar in the middle. The origin of this symbol is attributed to Hermes, the god of commerce, who held a caduceus in his hand. This same symbol is found mainly in the Catholic Church and represents the spirit nailed to the material world, thus giving it economic value. This symbol was also branded onto the slaves brought to America. We can find this history in the Dominicans, a specific church in Madrid, where this symbol is present throughout the church. It represents slavery and later became part of the symbol of commerce, as mentioned earlier. Later, it was incorporated into the first regional currency in Europe, known as the "thaler" in English. The term "dollar" directly comes from the word "thaler." This currency was the first to gain global recognition, and the same symbol can be found in the two columns of the "real de a ocho," which was the world's first global currency. It was minted in Bolivia and Mexico and was the only currency accepted by the Chinese in trade with the Philippines when the Philippines still belonged to Spain. Over time, the symbolism was transferred to the "real de a ocho" coins in the columns and the papyrus scrolls found on the columns of Charles V. This development led to the creation of the dollar bill and the emergence of banks. Basically, the symbolism associated with the Masons, the "Founding Fathers," most of whom were members of the Scottish Rite, was incorporated into coins and banknotes, including the Eye of Horus, the famous pyramid, and other intriguing inscriptions found on the dollars we know today. Then, in 1900, in the 20th century, the Federal Reserve was created, and money began to circulate in the form of plastic money. The first credit card, Diners Club, was created in New York in 1953, initiating a global revolution in plastic money. This artwork was created in 2012 when contactless credit card systems did not yet exist. These systems have become popular in recent years, and we can observe the interaction of plastic money with digital systems. Lastly, the artwork integrates the symbol of slavery, representing the spirit nailed to the material world through a microchip. Some governments are considering incorporating microchips into our bodies, connected to a system that allows us to manage our digital assets, either on a blockchain network or a centralized computer network, enabling us to use our money through our bodies.