Fountain17 project, by various designers and Hull School of Art and Design

The Wanderer, by Paul Collinson

A new exhibition is set to launch in Hull, which will see one of the most mundane, unexpected, day-to-day objects turned into art – the urinal.

Bathroom manufacturer Ideal Standard has worked with various designers, artists, poets and writers, alongside the Hull School of Art and Design, to turn the humble urinal into 45 unique installations.

The Fountain17 project has been inspired by late artist Marcel Duchamp’s 1917 coveted masterpiece, which was simply a porcelain urinal signed “R. Mutt”. Interpretations in the exhibition use mediums such as sculpture, painting, performance and film.

Contributing artists include Assemble, poet Lemn Sissay, and designer Ben Kelly.

The exhibition is part of Hull’s celebrations as the UK City of Culture 2017 but also marks the 200th year since toilet brand Armitage Shanks was founded.

Fountain17 runs from 1 April – 14 May 2017 at Studio Eleven and Kingston Art Gallery in Hull with free entry, and will then come to London as part of Clerkenwell Design Week on 23-25 May 2017. The imaginative toilets will then be auctioned for charity.

Passchendaele, by Gregory Hayman
Resurrection, by Gregory Hayman
Graces, by Adrienne Cameron
Toilet, by Jasleen Kaur
Fountain, by Clare