there's a woman in an office block who won't touch anything in the toilets. I haven't watched her in the cubicles, but at the sink she turns the taps on and off through a bundle of paper towels. Leading into the toilets are two seperate doors with large D-shaped handles. Holding (fresh) paper towels she struggles to pull each door open, barely allowing her paper-covered fingertips to touch the handles. This iar is dedicated to her.
objective: photograph every toilet handle used for a week, after using it.
why?: it's a rule
Monday: home - the office block (one of the very handles that she's never touched)
Tuesday: home - a work place - a department store - the office block - a gym
Thursday: home - a supermarket - a gym
Loo handles - I thought it would probably be a bit dull :) - that it would produce a stream of identical photos. It didn't - they come in all shapes and sizes and backgrounds. I had to be inventive and creative - I liked playing with the lines on the walls and trying out different angles. There were technical challenges: most toilets have limited and artificial light; they are in small confined spaces so there's not a lot of wiggle room and the photographer tends to get in the way of the little light there is! Many handles are shiny so the reflection of the photographer gets in the shot. Sometimes that works, most of the time it doesn't. This led to me having to bend down, and kneel on the floor (not what I usually do in public toilets!). I did like the 'looking up' shots - it elevated the handles. It's not a position one is normally in. One may be on a level with the handle when sat on the loo but your back is to it; one then stands above it and looks down to use the handle to flush.
I confess - I liked the ritual of it. I got excited about going to pee in new places. Going to the loo is an essential but generally uninspiring part of life. Going to pee in a new place is at best mundane, and often a minor annoyance: where is it, will I have to queue, will there be loo roll - and I just need to get it done so I can get on with what I really want to do.
I liked the ritual (which I adhered to rigidly): pee and flush - it's important that I touch the handle, and that I do that before taking the photo. Then I put the seat down. Initially this was just to get it out of the shot, but there was something about not wanting to be staring down the toilet bowl (what's that about?!). It was also practical - I might sit or lean on the loo seat to get the shot - and if I drop the camera it doesn't get wet! :)
I loved this - focussing on the details, taking notice of things one normally takes for granted, looking at things in a different way. I was surprised that I went to so many loos - how adventurous I am. It was coincidental that I chose this week to venture into foreign climes and discover deep-rooted cultural differences.