This photograph belongs to the series, "Absolute Powers / ex nihilo." These photographs dive deeper into the taboo and controversial topic of money by showcasing an array of intriguing real-world historic and contemporary objects (some worthless, others immensely valuable), while examining how societies perceive, express, and destroy value. Many moons ago my dream was to become an astronomer, an endless fascination with space. This mesmerizing, starry cosmos-like scene comprises 20.39 grams of gold dust panned during the mid 19th-century California Gold Rush. Scattering the precious heavy dust onto a deep black background was an exercise in jittery intrigue! The dust originated from the famous 1857 sinking of the SS Central America, the "Ship of Gold", discovered on the ocean floor in the 1990s. The wooden sidewheel steamer ship was packed with families carrying tons of newly-prospected gold (including this dust stored in satchels), waiting to be melted down and cashed in for life-changing gains. On its return voyage, the vessel was caught in a severe hurricane 200-miles off the coast of the Carolinas, few survived. Christos is a 1st-gen Greek-American fine-artist whose photographs probe themes of socioeconomics, culture, history, and architecture. As strong symbolic sparks in a frenetic 21st-century tangle, his creative intrigue is informed by identity, connection, nostalgia, and isolation.