The Billion Euro House

The Billion Euro House, originally uploaded by infomatique.

As the light was very poor inside this "art" installation it was close to impossible to take usable photographs but hopefully this photograph will provide so idea as to what the Billion Euro House looks like.

The Billion Euro House has been built entirely from recycled materials, and primarily from shredded Euro currency, awarded to artist for his installation by the national mint under strict terms.

The house comprises 3 rooms – a living room, bedroom and bathroom – along with a gallery space at the front of the house.

The currency acts as insulation and the billion euro house is actually a very appealing dwelling, it is also very silent inside.

It’s just a pity it took so much money to build!

Frank Buckley grew up in the 60’s in the vibrant suburb of Drimnagh, Dublin. Frank worked in the music business for over 10 years, tour managing and promoting some of the iconic Irish bands of the time before focussing on his art. Previous installations include “Expressions of Sympathy” in the Point Depot in 1993 dedicated to the victims of the Warrington bombing.

In 1997 Frank founded Sports Against Racism Ireland (SARI). SARI grew to become the primary vehicle against racism in Ireland and for over a decade continues to help integrate ethnic minorities into their local communities in Ireland.

Frank also has a passion for working with disadvantaged communities. He is currently in the process of building “The Haven Foundation”, a centre for recovering addicts in the world famous Thamkrabok Monastery in Thailand. A number of works in this exhibition have been donated by one of the head monks and will be used to support the development of an aftercare service for Irish people with addiction problems who travel to Thamkrabok.

A number of high prole people have collected Frank’s paintings and his work is on show around the globe in countries including America, Thailand, Jordan, Spain and Portugal.

In 2009 he started his current collection of works using currency as the medium, resulting in over 50 extraordinary pieces. Encouraged by the response the currency evoked in viewers, he struck upon the idea of building a house out of bricks made of the shredded currency. When the Glass House was made available for the project, he built the house in the space of three months to the level where it now has three walls, multiple sub-installations and his full gallery of paintings. The media instantly latched on to what has become one of the most stimulating installations in the capital for years.