Public Facilities is a sign-posting project which will hopefully divert some traffic into some of the “semi-public” places in society. The project will be launched on Wednesday 3rd of March with a public intervention in Temple Bar, Dublin, where participants will be directing the public into the toilets of the publicly funded galleries in the area. Hopefully.
I was allocated a space near the toilets when I was doing a residency in Limerick City Gallery of Art last June. At first I was slightly uncomfortable at this proximity as it might encourage my growing (and nauseating) fascination with public toilets and what goes on in them. And then I forgot about that and was glad of having the company of the passing users. And then the fascination came back with a bang as it dawned on me that some of these frequenters were in the building just to use the toilets. Any why not? Can you think of more glorious surroundings to send forth?
Aside from the obvious glee I found in this, the gilded bog, I was warmed by the fact that the great unwashed felt they could come in off the street and use the facilities there. Perhaps after years of work this gallery had managed to achieve something special, and place itself among the likes of the pub, the shopping centre and McDonalds. More than that, they had every right to come in there to use the toilets, they paid for them! In a publicly funded building, they were public facilities.
My name is Bernardine Carroll and I am an irish artist currently based in Belfast where I am undertaking an MA in Art in Public. I have worked collaboratively and sociably for the past couple of years and been involved in quite a few attempts at bringing meaning to peoples lives.Â