The Greyscale Economics Project
Brass Rabbit April 19 – May 22 2021
Virtual and In-Person Reception April 27 4-8pm
Virtual Gallery (Click on settings cog wheel and choose High Res if you have the bandwidth)
The JKC Gallery is excited to announce our next in-person and virtual show with artist Brass Rabbit and The Greyscale Economics Project. This multi-faceted show will include imagery and data about the non-traditional economy. If you participate in this “off the books” economy please see the survey links below and consider participating in the anonymous survey.
The Greyscale Economics Project combines data journalism, storytelling, and photography to highlight the stories of individuals who work in non-traditional economies. This project was designed to examine complex issues within American economics and the individuals who have created unusual avenues to bypass them.
From simple barter systems, under-the-table-payments, E-commerce, and illicit industries, Greyscale Economics is focused on promoting the stories of individuals who are typically left out of labor reports and census data, which in turn, determines resource allocation/funding, legal protection and broader civil awareness many of these groups could widely benefit from.
The first phase of Greyscale Economics will be exhibited at the JKC Gallery on the Mercer County Community College James Kerney Campus from April-May 2021. This first iteration will feature data directly from members of non-traditional economies such as sex workers, childcare providers, street vendors, residential cleaners, scammers and more. This information will be mixed with quotes and photographs representing these groups most used materials and tools.
The Greyscale Economics Project has four phases. The first phase focuses on data, quotes and objects individuals use most during their working hours. Phase two includes a period of shadowing and documenting the lives of specific members of varying groups along with continued data collection of in person and online surveying. Phase three is a secondary exhibition focusing on the actual individuals. Last, the fourth phase is a book, combining additional source materials and printed interviews from the project, along with analyzed data and a combination of images from each exhibit.
The collected data will be published in an online database anyone can access for free and will be updated live. The surveys and database will not be taken down even after the completion of the project so the information can grow and change with time.
If you are a participant in a non-traditional economy, you can take part by filling out a survey now.
Surveys are completely anonymous and information regarding privacy protection, storage and uses of this data can be found on via the website link below.
Anonymous English Survey Anonymous Spanish Survey
About Brass Rabbit:
Brass Rabbit is a US based, fine artist and documentary photographer living and working in Trenton, New Jersey.
Brass Rabbit got her start as a creator in documentary photography capturing the home lives of gang members, as well as individuals involved in illicit economies along the east coast of the United States. Her work focuses on American Made societal expectations and economic inequality.
Brass Rabbit’s works are held in several private collections and have been shown in regional and international galleries and museums. As a former member of the 501C3 arts nonprofit SAGE Coalition and OMN7 Arts Collective, she has also orchestrated and managed art events and large-scale installations in the city of Trenton and beyond.
Artist Statement
“Combining photography, data collection, and a variety of digital mediums, my work bends between playful imagery and hard truth. I am endlessly fascinated by money and its interwoven role in social organization. I create to answer my own questions on the social and political attitudes of my fellow Americans, attempting to find common ground beneath the many layers that separate my experience from my country and my people. In hopes of unearthing differing perspectives some may have never found in their daily lives.”