∆ 2 Writing
Reference Point: State of Matter
Vienna based State of Matter is an artist duo composed of Fabio Hofer and Ana Mikadze, who research the work of delivery riders in the city from a unique position, since Fabio is a rider himself, while also considering the broader context of platform capitalism. Their main project, We Wish You A Safe Ride (2024), happened as part of the Wienwoche Arts Festival, when volunteers were called to work as delivery riders. This gave the workers paid time off to connect and socialise with other workers, and attend workshops on themes like labour rights, healthcare, and collective organising. The event took place at the Riders Collective’s headquarters, which also featured open-access bike repair workshops, and a walking tour of the invisible food delivery infrastructures of Vienna. The duo also curated the exhibition Between Pick-up And Drop-off (2025) at the Wien Museum, which featured video portraits of riders telling their stories, alongside objects, maps and other visuals showing what it’s like to work as a food delivery rider in Vienna.
How It Relates to My Work
Our practices intersect in the critique of couriers’ working conditions, specially migrants. They manifest this position, for instance, in the videos presenting the We Wish You A Safe Ride project, posted in German, Arabic and English. The videos, one of them being narrated by Ana, a migrant themself, acknowledge that this group is particularly vulnerable in the context of the gig economy for having fewer rights, and the urgent need to make a living, which forces them to accept precarious working conditions. Ana and Fabio’s background is evident in their workshop practice. Fabio’s expertise as a bike mechanic and food delivery rider allows him to teach participants how to maintain and repair their bikes, and to educate volunteers on the delivery job before they hit the streets. And the duo’s artistic and performative practice allowed them to run backpack customisation and to enact the food delivery work during onboarding sessions for volunteers.
Both State of Matter’s and my work aim to raise awareness of the conditions of delivery riders exploited by companies in the platform capitalism context. My Fck Deliveroo poster for example is meant to serve as medium for Brazilians to find rider accounts for rent. It is the only way to work for the platforms if you are a migrant with no work visa, or can’t afford the long time it takes for delivery companies to approve an application. It is written in abreviated Portuguese so police officers don’t understand it, and features plenty of white space for people to share their phone numbers. I also created visuals for a jacket screenprinted with common delivery riders’ demands, and a print receipt with absurd statistics relating to workers’ earnings, both of which intended for a direct communication with customers on the act of delivery. In other iterations I explored ways I could work with delivery riders to tell their stories to a wider audience, like protest signs or publications. The zine Routes will show the working day of a real rider with screenshots of every order, a map of their route, and other visual records or their routine. The price of the publication will represent a 10% tip for one day of deliveries, and the profits will be shared between the rider and the IWGB union. The money could be used for sponsoring memberships for more riders, spreading the union’s reach and supporting workers’ collective strugles.
While having similar goals, State of Matter and I differ in the means employed to reach them, in their case workshops and exhibitions, but most notably in the way they subvert the role of the audience. The duo deeply engages them in the process, making the audience an essential part of the project. They are not mere viewers, nor participants, but assume the role of collaborators. Another difference is the plurality Ana and Fabio have achieved in their practice, including activities that might not be considered art or design in a traditional sense, like providing hangout opportunities for delivery riders, which relates to the broader discourse of leisure and socialising time for gig economy workers.
Another way our practices diverge is in the research and creation process. The methods I’ve used so far, interviews and secondary research in books, and news articles, came before the making. First I would try and find what are the workers’ demands, and them I would explore forms of expressing those. Ana and Fábio, aided by his experience as food delivery rider, intertwined research, creation, and performance by providing an environment for riders to engage in dialogue and develop the means for improving their situation themselves. They act as facilitators who foster relations that could be the starting point for collective organisation.
Moving Forward
Companies like Uber, Deliveroo and Just Eat came up with clever ways of using technology to connect businesses, couriers and customers. Usually it starts with favorable conditions that attract restaurants and clients before the need for ever-increasing margins comes up, which comes at the expense of the most vulnerable link in this chain, delivery riders. Years after their launch, delivery companies have created an environment where they seem essential, but food delivery has been around for many decades.
State of Matter’s practice is making me reflect on the roles traditionally performed by designers, audience, and other stakeholders. It’s not unusual for us designers to develop projects and research by ourselves until we have a polished outcome worthy of the public eye, and only them present it to our audience. By then, the crystalised designed may not allow for easy change and adjustments. But what happens when other groups are included from the beginning? Pater (2021) shows examples of collectives that act outside of capitalism, valuing solidarity and community building over profit. In the context of food delivery, potential projects should include local businesses, residents and workers from the beginning. Anyone who is for fair wages for workers and against the excessive power of platforms. Restaurants who can’t afford to use delivery apps because of the high rates would benefit from growing their client base. Couriers would earn more money per delivery, and have more power to address other demands. Customers would get better prices, since the money that goes to the platforms would be distributed between stakeholders. And everyone would benefit from being part of a community. Customers and couriers could eventually get to know each other after a few deliveries, or through socialising and collective organising events. The community decides what to do with money. Maybe set aside a fund to pay riders who can’t work due to illness or injuries. Even people outside the community would benefit from the reduced environmental impact of local deliveries. This approach may be a way to present an alternative, at least locally, that empowers collective organising against delivery platforms.
Reference List
Hofer, F. Mikadze, A (2025) Between Pick-up And Drop-off [Exhibition]. Wien Museum (Viewed: 16 October 2025).
Hofer, F. Mikadze, A (2024) We Wish You A Safe Ride [Installation]. Riders Collective (Viewed: 16 October 2025).
Pater, R. (2021) Caps lock: how capitalism took hold of graphic design, and how to escape it. 1st edn. Valiz.