Exhibition
Excretions lie upon each surface of the men’s public bathroom. Blatant puddles of urine mark the insides of toilet bowls, seats and bathroom floors; recklessly abandoned, they are relics of the careless territorialism of men. At the same time, a flurry of barely visible imprints cascade across stall walls, unobtrusive remnants of the sex which is practised on a constant basis, though under a veil of meticulously choreographed cues.
The melding and flowing of spaces and their uses occurs perpetually and this emerges as a way of understanding the complex wrestle between utility and pleasure, each mediated by the logic of heterosexuality. Here, boundaries are challenged and reformed on a fluid and frequent basis and public and private exist but as poles separated by a boundless spectrum.
Pools of piss were collected and tested against an array of urinalysis strips, the colours of which morph to visualise the bridge between health and disease. Those from whom this piss was flung remain enigmas. Their test results culminate in a representation of the masses who pass through and share these spaces with those who utilise the architecture to have sex. Tiled against one-another, similarities and variance appear ever clear and also disappear.
Meanwhile, a hole in the stall incites responses of several kinds. It goes unnoticed by few, marks a moment of anxiety for some and aids as an avenue to pleasure for others. The voyeur peers through, and whilst engaging the hole, impresses upon the stall their sebum. Though marked as the stall may be, these imprints are invisible until sought after. When set upon by powder, these latent prints are revealed and can be lifted.
Yiorgo Yiannopoulos
Artist Statement
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