The Blooming Language of Money

A representative example of an official national flower that is specifically used as a state symbol and adorns both coins and banknotes is Malaysia's Bunga Raya (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis), whose five petals symbolise the five national principles of the Southeast Asian state: belief in God, loyalty to the king and country, primacy of the constitution, rule of law and moral behaviour. In Japan, the chrysanthemum is not only the national flower, but also the symbol of the imperial family, representing longevity and happiness, and has thus found its way into the coinage of historic Japan. A national symbol of Germany that is deeply rooted in the truest sense of the word is the oak tree – no wonder that its branches adorn not only Germany's current 1, 2 and 5 cent coins, but also the former deutschmark.

Starting from a selection of coins from the Coin Collection of the Universalmuseum Joanneum, the artist Ryts Monet isolated and reorganized certain coins, grouping them according to the types of plants or flowers depicted. In this way, even coins originating from geographically distant or historically opposing regions find an unexpected harmony, restoring a natural order within a human-made order. The title of the series refers to the technique employed: frottage, a simple method used in both artistic and archaeological contexts.

Countries proudly display flowers that are found exclusively in their territory on their coins. Such endemic plants include, for example, Hladnikia pastinacifolia, which belongs to the umbellifer family, on Slovenia's 2 euro coin from 2010, and the flower of the Kōwhai tree, which is depicted on New Zealand's 2-cent coins and has even become the unofficial national flower of this Pacific state. The situation is similar with the giant water lily (Victoria regia), which is characteristic of Guyana and can be seen on the 1- and 5-cent coins of this South American state.

The Orchid Series was the first series of banknotes issued by Singapore after its forced independence from Malaysia in 1965. With the Orchid Series, Singapore chose to inaugurate its national currency with a series devoid of human figures, placing orchids at the center of the composition. This iconographic decision aimed to avoid potentially divisive references within a still-consolidating multiethnic society. The orchids represented in the series are the result of processes of hybridization and selection and function as a visual metaphor for cultural plurality and for an idea of coexistence constructed through balance, control, and cohabitation.

Text by Ryts Monet