Freedom Money

© Enka Springub - Titanium plate with an embossed seed phrase after a fire. © Enka Springub - Mining computers in an oil bath. Through immersion cooling, the oil heats up and can be reused as district heating. © Enka Springub - The gold discovery of Sylt at the Mineralogical Museum in Hamburg, Germany. View all images ↓
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  • Dates
    2024 - 2025
  • Author
  • Locations Hamburg, Prague, Augsburg, Frankfurt am Main
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»Freedom Money« explores Bitcoin – not only as a technical financial product, but as a cultural phenomenon. Through photography using symbols and objects, the work makes the idea of the »digital gold« tangible and transfers it into the physical world.

Bitcoin is the world’s first and largest cryptocurrency. Released in 2009 under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, not only its value has continued to grow, but also the community behind it. Freedom Money explores this topic through photography and examines Bitcoin as a cultural phenomenon that continues to expand, driven by a dedicated global community.

Using photography as a research tool, the work aims to convey insights and make complex ideas accessible through symbols and metaphors. It makes the invisible visible and translates a digital system into a visual and physical form.

Situated between documentary and conceptual approaches, the photographs do not merely depict reality. Instead, they open up a space for reflection, allowing viewers to develop their own thoughts, interpretations, and associations.

The work includes photography, video, sound, painting, installation, and an accompanying photobook.

© Enka Springub - Titanium plate with an embossed seed phrase after a fire.
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Titanium plate with an embossed seed phrase after a fire.

© Enka Springub - Mining computers in an oil bath. Through immersion cooling, the oil heats up and can be reused as district heating.
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Mining computers in an oil bath. Through immersion cooling, the oil heats up and can be reused as district heating.

© Enka Springub - The gold discovery of Sylt at the Mineralogical Museum in Hamburg, Germany.
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The gold discovery of Sylt at the Mineralogical Museum in Hamburg, Germany.

© Enka Springub - First version of the Bitcoin source code.
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First version of the Bitcoin source code.

© Enka Springub - Necklace of a participant at the Women Bitcoin Brunch in Prague, Czech Republic.
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Necklace of a participant at the Women Bitcoin Brunch in Prague, Czech Republic.

© Enka Springub - Empty mining container exhibited at BTC Prague, Europes biggest Bitcoin convention.
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Empty mining container exhibited at BTC Prague, Europes biggest Bitcoin convention.

© Enka Springub - Banknotes from hyperinflationary currencies from the German Reich, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Venezuela, and the United States.
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Banknotes from hyperinflationary currencies from the German Reich, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Venezuela, and the United States.

© Enka Springub - Mining devices being tested in the basement of a computer shop that sells mining equipment in Prague, Czech Republic.
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Mining devices being tested in the basement of a computer shop that sells mining equipment in Prague, Czech Republic.

© Enka Springub - Dice game at BTC Prague. To win, you have to roll a 21. Bitcoin mining is often compared to trying to roll a six.
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Dice game at BTC Prague. To win, you have to roll a 21. Bitcoin mining is often compared to trying to roll a six.

© Enka Springub - Image from the Freedom Money photography project
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A notebook made of waterproof stone paper for recording a seed phrase. The book was presented in a box filled with water at BTC Prague. Instead of a real seed phrase, it displays the lyrics of Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley.

© Enka Springub - Bitcoin ATM at an electronics store in Hamburg, Germany.
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Bitcoin ATM at an electronics store in Hamburg, Germany.

© Enka Springub - Money tree planted in construction debris.
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Money tree planted in construction debris.

© Enka Springub - Printing plate for ten Euro banknotes at the Money Museum of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt am Main.
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Printing plate for ten Euro banknotes at the Money Museum of the Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt am Main.

© Enka Springub - Wafer with removed microchips at the Mineralogical Museum in Hamburg, Germany.
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Wafer with removed microchips at the Mineralogical Museum in Hamburg, Germany.

© Enka Springub - Various solutions for mining devices at the »Energy Lab« of the company »terahash« in Augsburg, Germany.
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Various solutions for mining devices at the »Energy Lab« of the company »terahash« in Augsburg, Germany.

© Enka Springub - Hashboard from a Bitcoin mining computer. Each square contains a microchip. A typical miner contains three such boards.
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Hashboard from a Bitcoin mining computer. Each square contains a microchip. A typical miner contains three such boards.

© Enka Springub - Bitcoin collector’s coin.
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Bitcoin collector’s coin.

© Enka Springub - Exhibition in Pop Up Raum in Hamburg, Germany, 2025.
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Exhibition in Pop Up Raum in Hamburg, Germany, 2025.

© Enka Springub - Exhibition in Pop Up Raum in Hamburg, Germany, 2025.
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Exhibition in Pop Up Raum in Hamburg, Germany, 2025.

© Enka Springub - Photobook Dummy
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Photobook Dummy

Freedom Money by Enka Springub

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