Artist uses Argentina's inflation-hit bank notes as a canvas

What to do, when your money may soon not even be worth the paper it's printed on? Argentine artist Sergio Diaz has found his own way to make a statement against inflation: He transforms bills into artwork. In doing so, he uses motifs from well-known films, including "Harry Potter."

The situation in Argentina is tense: inflation is now approaching the 100% mark, a phenomenon that has helped drag 40% of the country's population into poverty. Diaz's art breathes new monetary life into the devalued bills.

Many ask Diaz how he can paint on the currency — it is money, after all. He has a pragmatic response: "Nowadays it makes sense for me to paint on the largest denominated bill here in Argentina. Once I paint on it, I can sell it for much more than what the bill is worth."

But Diaz doesn't exclusively use Argentine pesos — he also makes use of bank notes from other countries. In this piece, the poster for Steven Spielberg's 1975 thriller "Jaws" has been created using the peso and a US $1 bill.

Instead of galaxies far, far away, Darth Maul of "Star Wars" has conquered this $1 bill. And, of course, there is one person Diaz said could not be left off of his redesigned bank notes: Lionel Messi, Argentina's national hero, who gave the troubled country a reason to celebrate again with the recent World Cup victory.

Diaz said his work "reflects how inflation is lived, how this is growing, which ultimately affects us all, totally affects our lives and our purchasing power, how we are living through this crisis." His art, though perhaps not quite as glorious as Messi's goals, nonetheless gives hope to his fellow Argentines.