The dust is kicking in

"The Dust is Kicking In" is a provocative and futuristic conceptual project that reimagines industrial dust—a byproduct of urban pollution—not as waste, but as a new form of value. Rooted in the environmental and industrial reality of Kryvyi Rih, this artistic intervention transforms dust into a speculative economic system, proposing the creation of ПилБанк (Dust Bank) and the launch of ПИЛкоїн (DustCoin)—a currency of the future, derived from the very particles that cloud industrial landscapes.

At the heart of the project is an ironic yet critical reflection on both ecological issues and global financial systems. While dust is commonly associated with harmful pollutants, bacteria, and industrial emissions, it also contains cosmic particles—fragments of meteorites, remnants of the universe itself. Through research and experimental sampling, the artist collective #НУ_ХАЙТАК discovered rare and precious elements within industrial dust, including gold, silver, platinum, palladium, and iridium—materials vital for jewelry, technology, and even space exploration.

Dust as Currency: The Economy of the Future
The project playfully speculates that by 2025, the world will shift towards a new economic system based on dust, replacing conventional currencies with a resource-based financial model. This satirical yet thought-provoking idea suggests a network of Dust Banks in industrial cities, where people can collect, deposit, and exchange dust for currency. The concept follows a simple mechanism:

Collect dust →
Bring it to the nearest ПилБанк →
Exchange for ПИЛкоїни (DustCoins) →
Receive a quality certificate and a personal DustBank card →
Gain recognition and community rewards ("плюсики")
The ultimate goal? To bring together a global focus group in Kryvyi Rih, featuring visionaries like Elon Musk, to discuss globalization, technology, digital economies, and the transformation of industrial zones into cultural and tourist centers.

Art as Action: Performance & Exhibition
As part of the artistic action, dust collected from city sidewalks through vacuum cleaning performances was preserved and exhibited in glass jars (0.5L - 1L - 3L), sealed bags, and dust-made drawings. These artifacts not only highlight the absurdity of monetizing waste but also serve as a raw material archive—fragments of an urban environment that shape both the city’s identity and its future.

"The Dust is Kicking In" is more than a conceptual project—it is a playful, satirical critique of how value is assigned, how ecological issues are ignored, and how industrial cities like Kryvyi Rih could reinvent themselves in the global landscape. In the intersection of capitalism, ecology, and speculative finance, this project forces us to ask: What is truly valuable, and who decides?