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Semper Augustus,
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
242 A4 prints, website www.semperaugustus.net with animation based on real time DAX index (main german stock market index)
2008

exhibition view Invisible Parcours, IAC-Berlin Gallery

Holland has seen in the mid 17th century what is today identify as the first economic bubble in history : the Tulip mania. The crash happened couple of years later. The speculation was mainly oriented towards one particular tulip : the Semper Augustus, whose strips where actually due to a virus (fact discovered much later), the traders where then unconsciously speculating on a sick object.
The 242 prints are made from a 17th century drawing of the Semper Augustus tulip going from white (sikness) to complete red (health), representing the historical evolution of the DAX stock market (main german stock market) since its creation. www.semperaugustus.net is the link to a web animation of the Semper Augustus tulip giving the DAX stock market health in real time on every trading days.