The Toilet on the River brings into focus the strikingly personal, utopian romanticism that much of the Kabakovs’ work embodies. This installation is a temporary outhouse nailed together out of wooden construction boards. The toilet opposes the romantic feeling of wandering on the bank of the river and brings the viewers to question its usability as an object and as a work of art; it challenges their perception of dream and reality.
Ilya Kabakov explains: ‘If one would sit in these stalls, one would have an expansive beautiful view of the river. Being in the bathroom and daydreaming in nature are two sides of the same experience; quiet, meditative states, one is alone, in isolation from the frustrating social world, with a marvelous feeling of solitude, tranquility and peace – which is contrary to your usual state of perpetual anxiety; finally, a feeling of time standing still.’
