Why don’t my numbers add up?

It is very tempting to delve into the meaning and calculation of numbers, the mythology of numbers, number theory, numerology, and related fields. However, there is enough of all that out there. I am interested in these concepts from the point of view of the emotional narratives programmed across generations, cultures, and changing political landscapes; some are unique to different times and subcultures, others are common across the world. While everyone understands poverty vs. wealth, the signals of each may differ across the human spectrum and throughout history. My work intentionally focuses on numbers as they are used and convey fiscal themes, not science or mathematics. In the fiscal realm, numbers, specifically the accounting of money, are a niche, a skill, a specialty. Often, accounting infers an absolute, hard truth when, in reality, it reflects a highly variable, malleable, and fluctuating system of value exchange. While strict rules are imposed on accounting, those rules are created from and serve to form value systems informed by opportunism, strategic and cultural hierarchies, entitlements, domination, and exploitation. For example, a very rich industry or company can lobby for special tax rules and exceptions that the individual or small business cannot. This human element, intention, influence, imperfection, and oftentimes absence of true accountability, inform my choice of using rubber stamps and my method of hand-stamping each number in a seemingly random arrangement over a logical system of accounting. I want the viewer to be free of rules to reach their individual emotional pitch of interpretation