Transparent public toilet in Basel, Switzerland by Monica Bonvicini

Would you dare to use this toilet in Switzerland?

If you like to feel like you’re being watched…

This toilet, called "Don’t Miss a Sec," first shown in December 2003 by conceptual artist Monica Bonvicini, was immediately called "Loo with a View" by the press.

The photos show this transparent glass toilet at the Messeplatz in Basel, Switzerland at a major exhibition centre, were the largest exhibitions about watches & jewelry called ‘Basel World’ and the ‘Art’ (one of the biggest art exhibitions worldwide) take place.

From the outside looking in, it appears to be nothing more than a monolith made of mirrors; from the inside looking out, it’s a fully transparent 360-degree window on the world.
Although the stainless steel potty within the glass cube is fully functional, it’s still more a work of art than what you’d call an ‘official’ public toilet.

Nobody can see you during daytime, but what at night when the mirror is one-way in the other direction? People could also coming up to the wall and cupping their hands between their eyes and the glass, and then see quite alot of the action going on inside the toilet…

The "Don’t Miss a Sec" toilet originally stood on a bustling construction site facing the Tate Britain Museum in London.

Monica Bonvicini was born 1965 in Venice, Italy. The artist lives and works in Berlin, Germany and Los Angeles, USA.

The-artists.org – monica bonvicini