Steven Pippin

pippin
Lavatory locomotion, Walking (suited), 1997
6 s/w Photographien, Lochkameras in Holzkiste
Courtesy Mr. Pippin und Klosterfelde, Berlin

The project Lavatory Locomotion was realised in a public toilet in Tel Aviv. Pippin attached black and white negative films in the porcelain basins of 6 urinals and transformed them into pinhole cameras. A fine wire trigger was fixed between the shutter and the opposite wall. The actor once naked and once dressed walked twice along this row of pinhole cameras. On the way, he triggered the shutters and flash lamps using the remote control. After taking the photographs each of the urinal was transformed into a photo laboratory. When the urinal was flushed, developer flowed into it and the negative was developed. After this, the toilet was flushed again to wash off the developer before fixer was injected in the next step, again with the flush of the toilet. After fixing, the urinal was flushed one last time in order to rinse the black and white negative film. The wet film was then removed and dried under the toilet’s hand-dryer.

Steven Pippin (born 1960) lives in London and Berlin.

www.mrpippin.co.uk