Privy Privy

A collaboration with Donna Oblongata at Cannonball Festival, part of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival | September 26-29, 2023 

Privy Privy, a Cannonball Festival 2023 “Panel Pick,” is an interactive installation that simulates a public restroom of a bar, club, or other queer subcultural haven. Central to this architecture are glory holes– holes cut into the walls and partitions of the space’s “stalls”, through which a stranger could stick an appendage, in order to give and receive anonymous sexual pleasure. However, in this installation, the appendage that comes through each glory hole is a hand holding an ice cream cone. (Shhhh—it’s supposed to be kind of a secret.)

Visitors can enter the installation any time it’s open and choose to get on their knees and indulge in this anonymously proffered treat, or simply watch others gratify themselves in this way. Some may simply mill around, cruising the scene. Voyeurism is participation, as they say. For those who choose to indulge, it’s an unexpected physical encounter with a stranger, resulting in a moment of pleasure and a tasty treat.

Beyond the main attraction (holes), visitors will encounter a go-go dancing ice cream cone, a questionably G-rated soda jerk, and a soundtrack made exclusively of original dance club mixes played in clubs (including Crisco Disco and The Saint) from the late 70s to early 90s. These cassette tapes have been archived and digitized by the artists specifically for this installation.

Amongst a maelstrom of anti-queer legislation, (and in the wake of social distancing measures) Privy Privy upholds our essential need for sharing experiences between bodies. It references a queer subcultural practice that only exists because of the dominant culture’s predatory and homophobic definition of obscenity. As we turn this narrative on its head, we create a space for a vision of the future, abundant with delights, where we might realize the liberatory potential of communal pleasure.

At its core, it’s a space where people in need of a treat can come together.

Video and Image credits: Joy Burklund | ZANNI Productions

Privy Privy on Instagram