Gray Wielebinski: Exhibition

5 January — 31 October 2023

Selfridges, Duke Street, London

Commissioned by Selfridges for the 2023 Art Block.

Programmed and produced by Bold Tendencies. 

The Art Block is Selfridges' permanent destination for contemporary art that is participatory and unexpected. A marble and steel monolith proudly situated just inside Selfridges Duke Street entrance; the platform hosts an annual visual art commission. The Art Block is flanked by two glass vitrine windows at either side of the entrance's bronze framed doors, forming a tryptic of art spaces. These spaces have been specially designed to allow the showcase of large pieces of contemporary art that can weigh up to three and a half tones and measure well over four metres in height.

Exhibition by Gray Wielebinski spotlights the public restroom as a monument, sanctuary and secret. By evoking the Victorian Gothic style of architecture, the piece references feminist campaigns that equalised access to public sanitation facilities in the 20th century and led to Selfridges being the first department store to open women’s public toilets. It also nods to the connotation of these spaces as cruising sites and today’s conflicting visions of the purpose of public bathrooms, which often collide in transphobic “bathroom panics.” The two vitrines feature walkways divided by applique vanity screens that invite viewers to enter inside the window displays and reflect on the paradox of being alone in public.