In 2009, for the ninth consecutive year, Bellissimo curated the visuals and communication of Club to Club, the Turin-based international electronic music festival twinned each year with a different European city. That year’s campaign drew on creating a “State of Indepen/dance” imaginary world by Xplosiva, the cultural association that organizes the festival. It explored the key symbols of a fictional state: not just its charter —signed by every artist on the lineup— and its national anthem, but also its currency and flag, stamps, and other emblems of identity. Among these, the banknote stands out, specially designed and printed in fifty thousand copies.
The new currency is the Tuxel — a name some read as a blend of Turin and Brussels/Bruxelles, the festival’s twin city that year, while others interpret it as a cryptic nod to Tuxedomoon. Designing banknotes, with their intricate overlapping anti-counterfeiting patterns and subtly allegorical imagery, is the dream of many graphic designers. Bellissimo came very close to the real thing, taking the rare pleasure of printing with five declared colors, two varnishes, and a hot-foil die cut.
The inspiration, albeit loosely, came from the Swiss 10-franc banknote (when it comes to money, Switzerland is a must), the one depicting Le Corbusier. Not wanting to pick a deceased Italian musician, the festival’s implicit educational mission led to choosing composers Karlheinz Stockhausen and Arthur Russell instead. Who knows how much inflation the Tuxel has undergone over the years. Among the materials distributed were a series of stamps and the festival flag — with Bellissimo serving as both mint and state printing office.
The idea of creating a fictional state parallel to the Festival had been around for some time, dating back to when Bellissimo suggested to Xplosiva that Club to Club adopt Matthew Herbert’s witty, incisive adage as its claim: “Music is the only place where I can have freedom in my life.” The State of Indepen/dance thus finally becomes the only physical and metaphysical place where one is free to be oneself — a nation that unites artists and audiences in a shared spirit.
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