Janine Antoni

Conduit, 2009

Copper sculpture with urine verdigris patina, framed digital C-print

Image: 25 x 30 inches

(63.5 x 76.2 cm)

Framed: 27 1/4 x 32 1/4 x 2 1/8 inches

(69.22 x 81.92 x 5.4 cm)

Sculpture: 2 x 7 1/4 x 2 1/4 inches

(5.08 x 18.42 x 5.72 cm)

Pedestal: 10 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 32 1/2 inches

(26.67 x 26.67 x 82.55 cm)

Conduit is a small copper gargoyle fashioned to conform to the shape of a woman's body; it becomes a sculptural device that allows Antoni to urinate standing up. The Chrysler Building acted as a pedestal for her exuberant gesture. By using the gargoyle in relationship to her body, Antoni equates herself with the architecture. 

Antoni chose the griffin gargoyle, a mythical composite of a lyon and a bird, as inspiration for her form. She writes, “to use my invented apparatus is to make myself a hybrid.”

 The copper sculpture calls to mind plumbing pipes and copper architectural details. The metal oxidized when it came into contact with Antoni’s urine, creating a natural patina as a result of her action.