Artist turns English banknotes into Scottish money

Edinburgh-based artist Trevor Jones lampoons the uncomfortable ordeal of using Scottish banknotes in England in a new exhibition of art and technology

Trevor Jones puts his augmented reality app to work on some English banknotes. Picture: YouTube

Handing over a Scottish banknote to a cashier south of the Border can be a fraught experience.

Your perfectly legitimate note is squinted at, thrust into the air, scored with a pen, and scanned with a laser – and it might still be refused anyway.

Artist Trevor Jones has turned this anxiety-inducing exchange on its head in a new exhibition at Edinburgh’s Dundas Street Gallery, which brings together painting and technology in ways that either enhance or alter the gallery space.

Trevor Jones puts his augmented reality app to work on some English banknotes. Picture: YouTube

Jones will only accept Scottish banknotes for visitors looking to purchase his artworks – but, with an augmented reality app, he can transform Bank of England notes into Scottish currency (Flower of Scotland will play from the iPad when this happens – a cheeky flourish).

Running from Wednesday until September 9, #EdinburghHacked promises to connect painting with augmented reality technology to create artworks that are transformed by the collision of tradition and innovation.