HACKING IKEA

THE BACKGROUND
This project which is still very much in its infancy grew directly out of the exhibition: Pass It On: Connecting Contemporary Do-It-Yourself Culture which took place in the Spring of 2007 at Columbia College Chicago's A+D Gallery. I co-curated the exhibition along with my wife and collaborator Anne Dorothee Bohme and Lindsay Bosch. We spent fourteen months researching, interviewing, and soliciting work to represent as many aspects and voices of d.i.y. culture as we could find. We were determined to use the exhibition to expand the definition of do-it-yourself far beyond tinkerers, hackers, and crafters and to connect d.i.y. activity more broadly across social, political, and economic boundaries. We were concerned that the common perception of do-it-yourself activity remains mired in a kind of low-brow pursuit commonly associated with punk rock, zines, and other forms of older counter culture as opposed to a more openly shared communal activity. We wanted to clearly show that d.i.y. activity has been around since the very beginning of civilization and now encompasses contemporary technological issues like the open source movement and hacking. We wanted to dispel a growing perception that d.i.y. has been co-opted by large corporations sending it into free-fall decline. Instead we view do-it-yourself culture as impervious to co-option because of its inherently anarchic structures, its willingness to share, and its strong social networking. Through an elaborate analog and digital time-line we demonstrated that many organizations in fact begin as single individuals striking out against the established order of the day to create an organization that, if it survives, grows and prospers. Examples include: doctors without borders, gay activism, and many political grass roots organizing.

THE CONCEPT
As an industrial designer/educator interested in material culture in all of its manifestations (most particularly sustainability) I see a direct connection between minimizing the amount of stuff we in the industrialized nations passively consume and the large scale producers and retailers of those goods who constantly exploit ways of producing those goods cheaply. The 'big box' distributors as the ideal place to subvert passive product dissemination. Rather than focus on creative re-use after the product has left its initial buyer's possession and entered the unchartered waters of the 're-distribution' stream(s) from sites like Salvation Army and Oxfam stores, resell shops, alleys, etc. I am interested in looking at the goods and materials offered through retailers like IKEA not so much as finished goods but rather as sites of source materials that can be expanded, improved, and generally 're-purposed' to create customized objects with a higher personal value.

THE PROCESS
The way this would be accomplished is to 'rummage' through any large retailers inventory for 'parts' that can be altered and expanded to create better more personalized designs and then provide detailed instruction-sets on how to 'HACK' the product to produce better and different products. It is an industrial bricolage process easily accomplished via the existing information networks and readily available software. The ultimate goal is to convince retailers to allow end-users greater participation in the creation of their products; to create products that can be fixed or otherwise re-purposed; and to provide new pathways to encourage greater active consumption and thought about consumption patterns.

THE RESULTS
I did my first IKEA hack several years ago before I even realized there is a whole network of IKEA hackers out there. My hack uses the laminated bent plywood- Benjamin stool and much like Jules from ikeahack http://ikeahacker.blogspot.com/2007_06_01_archive.html I use it because it is well made from a construction and material standpoint but has a very boring appearance. As an industrial designer and furniture designer I can exploit what IKEA does right (generally real wood products as opposed to particle board or MDF- medium density fiberboard) and utilize these parts to re-think new and better designs. Then I share them on line with anyone interested in my instruction sets. I see this as an on-going project.

For more information contact: khenry@colum.edu