WASHROOM HYGIENE


A NEW ART FORM


Public washrooms are increasingly being used as a showcase for art. But why? Stuart Hands from Tork manufacturer Essity, looks at artistic toilets around the world and considers the benefits that an aesthetically-pleasing washroom has to offer.


Leicester was one of five European cities chosen to host a toilet-based exhibition of art this summer.


The work of several international artists was placed on display in the lavatories of the city’s shopping centres, cafes and art galleries. The theme of this highly unusual event centred around the benefits of living in a multicultural society.


Meanwhile across the Channel, other toilet exhibitions were focusing on various other themes such as climate change, sustainability and the importance of outlawing bullying and discrimination. These events were staged in Rome, Hamburg, Sofia and Kristianstad in Sweden.


“42% of diners said they would always prefer to eat at a restaurant where the loos had been attractively designed.”


Organisers of the Accessible Art for All project conceded that the toilet was an unconventional place for an art exhibition. But their aim, they explained, was to share important societal messages in a truly inclusive environment.


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In fact, toilet art could be considered a genius idea. Instead of requiring audiences to seek out cultural displays in galleries and museums, it brings art to the people and allows a captive audience to enjoy exhibitions in a space that by its very nature is used by everyone.


The concept of toilet art seems to be catching on. For example, a series of iconic washrooms were created in Tokyo this summer as a showcase for the Olympic Games. The Tokyo Toilet Project aimed to revitalise facilities in the city’s Shibuya Ward and installations included the underwater-themed Ebisu East Park washroom, which boasted a toilet shaped like a giant squid; and the Higashi Sanchōme toilet which has red walls designed to resemble sheets of origami paper.


Also, part of the project was the ‘Toilet Village’ – a series of huts camouflaged by cedar planks and connected by a meandering footpath to create the feel of a woodland walk. Each village ‘hut’ caters for specific sub-sets of people including children, families and the less abled.


Closer to home, this summer also saw a washroom art installation appearing on a lavatory wall in Whitstable. The outside of a seaside toilet block in the Kent coastal town now boasts a painting of Vincent Van Gogh dressed in a hoodie and clutching a can of spray paint.


The work of local street artist Catman, the painting depicts Van Gogh putting the finishing touches to a graffiti- painted sunflower. According to Catman, the mural


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