The Washroom Talks, This Weekend

By Hazel Last edited 200 months ago
The Washroom Talks, This Weekend
WashroomTalks.jpg

A lot of interesting conversations take place in the toilets. Ladies queue for the lavatory and start discussions about just about anything. Men indulge in a subtle, extremely complex sort of code when standing at the urinal, trying to continue an in-depth analysis of the weather. And art... people talk about art in toilets.

No, really, they do. This Londonista was locked into the Ladies toilets of Hackney Empire in May this year in order to discuss what is non-art with four strangers. The entire mind-bending discussion is recorded here. The extremely nice and carefully lit Ladies toilets were oddly conducive to detailed, sometimes heated, carefully considered debate about how an object or idea can turn from a piece of roadside rubbish into full-blown artwork. It was a very interesting afternoon. And another one has been scheduled so you can join the fun and add your two pennies to the debate.

Artist Jay Rechsteiner organises the Washroom Talks and aims to get everyone talking and thinking about art. The Washroom Talk scheduled for this weekend takes place inside the toilets of gallery:space in Finsbury Park on Saturday at 1pm. While the participants to actually go inside the toilets to talk and debate for the allotted hour have already been chosen, a live feed of the discussion will be broadcast into the gallery space itself so those who are feeling a bit shy or fancy leading a counter-conversation outside can still be part of this odd little event. Having been part of a Washroom Talk previously, we can honestly say it will make you think of toilets and art and talking to strangers in an entirely different way.

The Washroom Talks, Saturday 21 July, 1pm outside the toilets of gallery:space. For more information about the venue, go to the gallery:space website here. For more information about the Washroom Talks, go to the website here.

Image by stpiduko from the Londonist Flickr pool.

Last Updated 19 July 2007