The title comes from the Latin word merx, meaning merchandise, and at the same time it alludes to Mercury, the Roman god of messages and communication. In mythology, Mercury was the messenger who carried information and goods from one place to another, and today that role is, in a way, fulfilled by the cardboard boxes that bring
products into our homes. I was interested in that connection because it reveals how we have normalized the use of natural resources without thinking about their origin. Cardboard comes from trees, yet by the time it arrives as packaging we are completely disconnected from its source. I wanted to bring that invisible story back to the surface and make visible the link between an industrial material and the living resource from which it comes.
