As we stroll along through the film sets of IKEA, where everyday life seems to be waiting to take place; as we open the curtains to look through the windows where there is no outside; as we thirstily open the taps where no water ever runs: We try to break through the suspension of disbelief.
Semiotics can be a useful tool when trying to break through the fourth wall of a theater play. But as we start reading it seems IKEA has created another diversion, the use of paradoxes.
We take acting crazy seriously.
Cheap but not at all costs.
Our wooden boards are your specialty.
The smallest price tag demands then most thinking.
There are always special offers at IKEA.
Great ideas for small spaces.
With the curtains closed, you'll have a better view.
Even the prettiest design is worthless, when it's not affordable.
We design mattresses for people who are awake.
Can the use of paradoxes be a clue in our quest for what IKEA is? A way out of the dilemma of on the one side a corporate identity which says: " Democracy for all!" and on the other side a very obscure power structure, which protects it's decisions and expenses in a clamshell of affiliates and subdivisions?
