Founded in 1997 by Marcus Gossolt, * 1969 in St. Gallen (CH) and Johannes M. Hedinger, * 1971 in St. Gallen; both live and work in St. Gallen and Zurich (CH)

Mocmoc & Mermer, 2006–2011

In a globalized world, which emphasizes mobility and networking, there is no room for rigid and distinct identities; the question of membership has become a game of forms and relations that are constantly being overwritten and redefined. Conversely, in populist forums, mourning the loss of regional or national identities alternates with the fear of “foreigners” forming a cultural unit. Here questions of belonging sometimes become deadly serious.

The artist duo Com & Com have made both the seriousness and the playfulness of identity formation the core of their project Mocmoc & Mermer. For a competition held by the town Romanshorn on Lake Constance, they developed the fictional character Mocmoc, who along with a bogus “local” legend was implanted in the cultural memory of the place and represented in impressive statues. The pop aesthetics of the sculptures stirred up controversy; while a citizen’s initiative was founded for the “removal” of the statues, younger people in particular supported the now cherished monuments. In Mocmoc & Mermer Com & Com found a suitable companion for Mocmoc in Merlion, a figure developed by the Singapore Tourist Authority in the 1960s. In their naïve artificiality, the figures illustrate that identity today can be understood only with an awareness of its fictional nature – and may well arise out of shared laughter (at oneself). (JB)

Mocmoc & Mermer, 2006–2011