I dispense, divide, assign, keep, hold

‘I dispense, divide, assign, keep, hold’ constitutes another stage in The Nordenskiöld Model, an experiment in theatrical finance articulated as a series of free-standing public rehearsals. The NAK hosts a scene developed by theartists in collaboration with cultural economist and former banker Ismail Ertürk attempting to imagine a future numismatics of a Credit Default Swap (CDS). Numismatics being the study and collecting of coins and currency,Ertürk uses the current financial situation of Greece to trace the material remains of present day financial instruments. The Kunstverein itself becomes a stage for this imaginary numismatic collection, which also references the various developmental phases of monetary and financial economy: a coin from the 4th century BC, an antique money-changer’s table from the seventeenth century with a special sliding mechanism, as well as a display of thecurrent Ger- man national debt. The money-changer’s table, featured centrally in the NAK exhibition, has left its traces on today’s world of finance. Called “banca” in Italian, it is the origin of the word “bank”. If a money changerbecame insolvent, the device – the “banca” – was destroyed; “banca rotta” indicated bankruptcy. On August 12 the final day of the exhibition, bankruptcy will also be declared at the NAK and the money-changer’s table will be destroyed.