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Toilet paper

Print
1994 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

fierce pussy is a collective of queer women artists which started in New York City in 1991. The founders were all deeply involved in AIDS activism and brought lesbian identity and visibility to the fore in a time of frantic mobilisation around LGBTIQ+ health in the early years of the AIDS epidemic. With low or no budget, in the group's own words: 'the collective responded to the urgency of those years, using readily available resources: old typewriters, found photographs, our own baby pictures, and the printing supplies and equipment accessible in our day jobs. fierce pussy projects included wheat pasting posters on the street, renaming New York City streets after prominent lesbian heroines, re-designing the restroom at the LGBT community center, printing and distributing stickers and t-shirts, a greeting card campaign, a video PSA and more recently, various installations and exhibitions in galleries and museums'. Four of the original core members (Nancy Brooks Brody, Joy Episalla, Zoe Leonard, and Carrie Yamaoka) continue to work together.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleToilet paper (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Photocopied poster
Brief description
Printed toilet paper by fierce pussy, made for an installation in the 'Outhouses' exhibition at the New York Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center. USA, 1994.
Physical description
Photocopied toilet roll printed with identity terms and various other language relating to lesbians and gay women, as well as more broad misogynistic insults.
Credit line
Given by Joy Episalla
Historical context
This printed toilet roll was made for a 1994 Bathroom Project at Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center. Information from the artist collective's own website is as follows:

"A site-specific installation in the women’s bathroom made as part of the exhibition “Outhouses” at the New York Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center, incorporating a billboard-sized poster, messages etched on mirrors inside the stalls and an edition of custom-printed toilet paper."
Subjects depicted
Summary
fierce pussy is a collective of queer women artists which started in New York City in 1991. The founders were all deeply involved in AIDS activism and brought lesbian identity and visibility to the fore in a time of frantic mobilisation around LGBTIQ+ health in the early years of the AIDS epidemic. With low or no budget, in the group's own words: 'the collective responded to the urgency of those years, using readily available resources: old typewriters, found photographs, our own baby pictures, and the printing supplies and equipment accessible in our day jobs. fierce pussy projects included wheat pasting posters on the street, renaming New York City streets after prominent lesbian heroines, re-designing the restroom at the LGBT community center, printing and distributing stickers and t-shirts, a greeting card campaign, a video PSA and more recently, various installations and exhibitions in galleries and museums'. Four of the original core members (Nancy Brooks Brody, Joy Episalla, Zoe Leonard, and Carrie Yamaoka) continue to work together.
Collection
Accession number
E.954-2022

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Record createdJune 9, 2023
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