On a sunny day in February 2023, a large iron ball washed up on Enshu Beach (Japan). The object in the sand attracted a large contingent of local police and subsequently made waves in the international press for a few days. Under headlines such as "Spy balloon, UFO or Dragon Ball? Japan baffled by iron ball washed up on beach" (The Guardian), images and video clips circulated of men in protective suits approaching the ball with X-ray equipment while helicopters circled overhead.

“Post-Readymade” deals with artistically appropriated objects that are surrounded by a complex system of references consisting of infrastructures, discovery sites, experience reports, and stories of origin. With works by Luke Willis Thompson, Hito Steyerl, and Lindsay Lawson in mind, Katharina Weinstock draws parallels between the reception histories of Duchamp's “readymade” and Breton's “objet trouvé” in order to develop the new term “post-readymade” from their interplay.

If you want to know what the iron ball was all about, which in 2023 became a plaything of cultural imaginations, political atmospheres, and found fodder for clickbait news reporting, you can find the answer here:

“Post-Readymade” available for free download