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Next-Level Bathroom Humor Plops onto Frieze London | Insta of the Week

Julie Verhoeven's conceptual bathroom installation is the best thing we've seen from Frieze so far.

A photo posted by Ellis Pendens (@ellispendens) on

Oct 6, 2016 at 11:32am PDT

Bathroom breaks are all part of the show at Frieze London this year, thanks in no small part to iconic fashion illustrator/designer/performer/artist Julie Verhoeven. She's applied her colorful, fleshy style to an installation and performance in one of the fair complex's lavatories: The Toilet Attendant… Now Wash Your Hands is part of Frieze Projects, curated this year by Raphael Gygax.

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Its project page describes The Toilet Attendant… Now Wash Your Hands as a "performative intervention in one of the washrooms complexes at the fair—probably the most egalitarian space within the whole event. Verhoeven’s playful architectural and performance interventions will not just create a more hospitable environment but will also open up space for critical thinking on the invisibility of certain working groups and labor ethics."

A video posted by Mathilde Agius (@mathildeagius) on

Oct 5, 2016 at 12:10pm PDT

Verhoeven and a troupe of other performers are clothed in her trademark chaotic couture, acting as oompa loompa-like bathroom attendants whom visitors must pass to enter the toilet area. Bathroom-themed assemblages covered in toilet paper and featuring video art on tiny portable screens are scattered throughout the hall. Propagandistic illustrations of cleaning products decorate the walls, each stall's markings are bedazzled, and custom-made embroidered turds pepper the space. The toilets are clothed in retirement home-chic fabrics, and there are even artworks emblazoned inside their porcelain bowls. The artist herself can be found talking to visitors and, as one Instagrammer documented, intently peeling tampons from their wrappers.

With the discussion of trans bathroom access launching the loo into American politics, Verhoeven's destruction of all normalcy in the art fair's water closet is a surprisingly engaging political statement—a trend that also includes Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet at the Guggenheim. We can only hope more art institutions figure out new ways to contemplate the commode as the discussion continues.

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#julieverhoeven

A photo posted by Kirsten Dunne (@kdlansing) on

Oct 5, 2016 at 7:53am PDT

A photo posted by Katy Howe (@_katyhowe_) on

Oct 6, 2016 at 8:22am PDT

#FRIEZE2016 #friezeprojects #toilets #interactiveart by #JulieVerhoeven @friezeartfair @friezemasters #london2016 #artworld #artscene #art #artists #collectors #galleries #installations #paintings #sculptires #videoart #performanceart #photographs #creations #FACADESonline #Fashion #Art #Culture #Architecture #Design #Events #Society (full view of archives in computers/laptops/iPads only)

A video posted by FACADES (@facadesonline) on

Oct 6, 2016 at 8:18am PDT

#JulieVerhoeven in performance in the ladies' loos @friezeartfair

A photo posted by Nancy Durrant (@nancydurrant) on

Oct 6, 2016 at 6:58am PDT

It's a loo party! Some next level #looart with Julie Verhoeven's Frieze Project in the loos of #friezelondon. Can't help but think of Marcel Duchamp's Fountain and Maurizio Cattelan's Toiletpaper. #2magazine #friezeweek #julieverhoeven @kitty_su

A photo posted by 2Magazine (@2magazine) on

Oct 6, 2016 at 4:37am PDT

Julie Verhoeven intervention of the @friezeartfair toilets is giving me life  #julieverhoeven #toilets #frieze #friezeartfair #london #art

A photo posted by Juan Sánchez (@seemp) on

Oct 6, 2016 at 5:47am PDT

Quick slash @friezeartfair #friezeprojects #thetoiletattendanr #nowwashyourhands @raphael_gygax @joshua.beaty @shellioty @sage_townsend @artcefai

A photo posted by julieverhoeven (@julieverhoeven) on

Oct 7, 2016 at 3:07am PDT

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#ArtIsWorthWaitingFor … the absolute #highlight of #Frieze .. @julieverhoeven in the #loo … @belmaczmayfair and I both received wonderful #Turds for a #SueRyder donation …. #beauty #art #genius #faeces #poostheword #shit #Sculpture #softsculpture @friezeartfair #friezelondon #generous #artwork … make a #BLine for the #toilets guys … #FriezeProjects

A photo posted by Paul Kindersley (@paulkindersley) on

Oct 5, 2016 at 10:44am PDT

Velour turd with poo bag, proud possession of @loubuck01 from Julie Verhoeven's @friezeartfair bog…#frieze #velourturd #julieverhoeven #friezeweek #butisavelourturdart #yesofcourseitis

A photo posted by Anna Brady (@annabrady100) on

Oct 5, 2016 at 6:30am PDT

Frieze London 2016: Brilliant @julieverhoeven The Toilet Attendant @friezeartfair @clmagency #julieverhoeven #friezelondon #friezeartfair #friezeprojects

A photo posted by CLM (@clmagency) on

Oct 6, 2016 at 4:43am PDT

F. A.B Wipe from front to back @julieverhoeven

A photo posted by JOSHUABEATY (@joshua.beaty) on

Oct 5, 2016 at 1:27pm PDT

#boysgopink #thankyou #julieverhoeven #friezeprojects #frieze #opensnow @friezeartfair @julieverhoeven

A video posted by Raphael Gygax (@raphael_gygax) on

Oct 5, 2016 at 2:08am PDT

Follow Julie Verhoeven here, and find your next favorite artist on The Creators Project's Instagram.

Related:

It's Your Turn to Use the Guggenheim's 18K Gold Toilet

Here's the Scoop on Japan's New Toilet Museum

Your Bathroom Deserves Craig & Karl Designer Toilet Paper