READYKEA.
Revolution to Smash Global Capitalism - Exhibition Design at Cabaret Voltaire Zurich.

Readykea (2011) was developed for the exhibition Revolution to Smash Global Capitalism at Cabaret Voltaire Zurich. Starting from the provocation “Only capitalism can smash capitalism,” the project deliberately hacked IKEA’s customer satisfaction policy, resulting in a scenography produced at zero cost and with zero waste.

The entire exhibition setup was constructed using IKEA Trofast boxes, temporarily assembled with zip ties. After the exhibition, the zip ties were cut and all components were returned to the store for reimbursement, fully complying with IKEA’s return policy. The exhibition schedule itself was aligned with the constraints of this policy, turning a corporate logistics system into a design material.

Readykea is conceived as behavioral furniture and as an exhibition device rather than a product. The project is based on the reversible combination of two standard IKEA elements (Trofast and Antonius), assembled exclusively through zip ties. The design consists in the functional subversion of mass-produced furniture, transforming it into a temporary spatial system governed by instruction, timing, and use.

Rather than opposing the system from outside, Readykea operates entirely within its rules. By adhering strictly to corporate policy while exploiting its procedural logic, the project reveals how economic systems can become spatial and behavioral design tools.

As a designer, the project reflects an interest in producing designs that anyone can make. Readykea positions recipes and instruction manuals as primary design tools, capable of transforming users into makers and institutions into active participants. The work operates through humor, irony, and procedural clarity, exposing the contradictions embedded in consumer culture by fully adhering to its own rules.

Readykea was commissioned by the DADA House (Cabaret Voltaire Zurich) for the exhibition DADA New York II: Revolution to Smash Global Capitalism, curated by Adrian Notz and Philip Meier. Featured artists included The Yes Men, Reverend Billy, Voina Group, IRWIN, Königreiche von Elgaland-Vargaland, Mc Ghillie, !Mediengruppe Bitnik, UBERMORGEN, and Roland Wagner.

Although developed prior to the formal articulation of DEMA, Readykea anticipates a central dimension later formalized within Epistemic Design: design operates not only through objects, but through the reconfiguration of systems, procedures, and institutional rules.

Displace — The project displaces design from object production to procedural action, redefining furniture and exhibition design as temporary, reversible, and instructional systems.

Expose — Readykea exposes the internal logic of consumer capitalism by exploiting its own policies, revealing the mechanisms of satisfaction, return, and surplus embedded in mass retail systems.

Mediate — The project mediates design knowledge through simple instructions and readily available components, translating critical discourse into an accessible, repeatable operation.

Activate — Readykea activates institutions, curators, and users as performers of the design itself, requiring participation, timing, and compliance for the project to function.