Free Delivery (Vivarium Episode 9)

Nowadays, you can have a tasty snack delivered to your home in no time using your mobile phone. Did you know that in the Netherlands, 315 million meals are delivered each year? This food delivery worker is eating his own meal in between orders. It looks as if you’re standing in front of a real window, behind which he is staring into the distance. This is called a trompe-l’œil, an optical illusion. The image deceives your eyes.

Maybe tonight is one of those evenings when you just really don’t feel like cooking. Ordering a pizza or a tasty kapsalon with extra sambal? Easy to do, and quickly delivered! Nothing wrong with that, says artist Dirk Hardy. But what about the delivery person? Dirk Hardy is struck by the fact that so many couriers work as freelancers, with no security and very poor pay.

This freelance delivery rider sits at a dirty table, waiting for the next order. The raindrops on his jacket and oversized delivery bag reveal the bad weather. The bike lights on his jacket and bag are still on, he won’t be here for long. He brought a plastic container with some leftover nasi from home.

Do you see the ants walking in the background? The artist bought a box of real ants especially for the photo.

As real as the work may seem, almost everything was imagined and created by Dirk Hardy himself. He worked full-time on the artwork for three months. He built the set, invented the fictional brand Speat, produced the clothing and delivery bag, and designed the advertising posters. A carpenter built the frame based on Dirk Hardy’s design, so that it looks like a window frame at first glance.