<Mercury>

<CG HD Video, 2017>

The sculpture MERCURY (2016) falls apart in a loop and then reassembles. The constantly bursting sculpture is a symbol for systems that renew themselves through self-destruction. Mercury is the Roman god of trade and merchants, but also of thieves and financial gain. New technologies such as blockchain and new currencies such as Bitcoin promise transparency and independence through decentralization. Trading in cryptocurrencies, on the one hand, is reminiscent of a game of chance due to its high volatility, in the darknet, on the other hand, cryptocurrencies are used because of the anonymity of their owners. So old problems appear in a new guise. Digital material is also exchangeable and freely available. With two clicks, by drag and drop, marble becomes silver and silver becomes plastic. And a 3D scan of a sculpture like the 18th century Mercury by Joseph Nollekens can be downloaded from a web portal like Turbosquid with one click.

Text by Anika Meier