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Parcopresis

Exhibition opening Thursday 18 September, 6-8pm ā€˜I wish that there was a way that I could completely prevent my bodyā€™s need to defecateā€™, writes Darwin-based artist Catherine McAvoy whose latest documentary project takes not only self-portraiture as its subject but self-portraiture through the lens of a public toilet, or more directly, the toilet bowl. ā€˜For a long time I was never able to crap in public toilets or other peoplesā€™ toiletsā€™, McAvoy writes, introducing her Parcopresis project (ā€˜parcopresisā€™ being the term used when a person is unable to defecate unless they have a certain level of privacy) through which she has confronted her public toilet phobia through a series of photographs documenting her presence in, and use of public toilets in a wide range of locations ā€“ around Darwin, on planes, and elsewhere. Though she regards this documentation as ā€˜a futile attempt to be more comfortable with this bodily functionā€™, it constitutes a confronting portrait nonetheless, with her series presented in the context of NCCAā€™s own public toilet and thus blurring the lines (or muddying the waters) between public toilet and contemporary art space.
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