Pot shots — take a dump on Trump or an oligarch dictator with these inspired toilet creations

I’ve been lucky to have attended some of the most off-beat and avant-garde art exhibitions in the world, including several in Cape Town – where live snakes formed part of an installation – and a burlesque exhibition featuring Veronique Malherbe, who once used her breast milk to produce chocolates called Breastlay.

Then there was the performance artist Peet Pienaar, famous for having himself videotaped while undergoing circumcision. All of this in iKapa.

You get the vibe – I’ve been around the metaphorical block, I’ve seen it all, don’t teach your grandmother to suck eggs.

A few weeks ago, however, was the first time I went to an exhibition of a large toilet and a chamber pot (called a “Koos” in Afrikaans). It’s not merely like a normal suburban toilet in Parow called Armitage Shanks (remember those?) – with Ouma’s hand-knitted red and green doilies on the cistern – or a Koos made from stained enamel.

No, shoo, off you go, close the door on your way out, I’m on the loo – these items have Donald Trump’s face painted on the inside so that you can have a dump on Trump or spend a penny on an oligarch dictator.

They were designed by the ceramist Mervyn Gers and exhibited in Mervyn Gers House, a huge industrial-chic studio in the centre of Cape Town that is surrounded by 1980s-styled high-rise buildings such as the neoclassical Reserve Bank and über-retro Cape Sun. The mood is backstreet Berlin, where bohemia meets dosh.

The toilet and pot are crafted from fine ceramics. The seat of power has a high-gloss finish, glazed in a deluxe cobalt blue sourced straight from Stoke-on-Trent, England, and inspired by vintage Chinese export porcelain.

Each piece is lightly fired, then gilded with 24-carat gold lustre and silkscreened. These works are part of Gers’s latest series titled Dump on Dictators, consisting of six toilet installations that serve as vessels for political commentary on authoritarianism and civil liberties.

The project took four years to develop, involving extensive research, intricate ceramic techniques and collaborations with print artist Ellalou O’Meara. The remaining installations will feature themes from India, Russia, China, Turkey and other regions.

The American-themed toilet features symbols of American ideals: the Capitol, the Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty. The Great Seal of the US, the official emblem of national authority approved in 1782 and used to authenticate presidential signatures, is prominently displayed.

Circling the toilet’s interior bowl are the names of the 43 Republican senators who voted to acquit Trump during his second impeachment trial in 2021 for incitement of insurrection after the 6 January attacks.

On the night of the launch, it certainly was a weird feeling standing next to the Trump throne, putting my hand triumphantly on the cistern with aplomb – and seeing crowds mingle around a toilet that wants to make you toyi-toyi.

After a few glasses of wine, I looked at the Great Seal of the US, shimmering and shiny. I thought of Paul Simon’s song Love Me Like a Rock. These words came to me: “And if I was president (Was the president) / The minute Congress call my name (Was the president) / I’d say now, who do (who) / Who do you think you’re foolin’ (Who do you think you’re foolin’) / I’ve got the presidential seal (Was the president) / I’m up on the presidential podium…”

I wonder what the dictator would say about this loo? Perhaps something like this: “Let me tell you, folks, this is the most incredible toilet you’ve ever seen – believe me, I know toilets, not to mention chamber pots – but it’s all about the toilet.

“This isn’t just a toilet – it’s a masterpiece, a work of art. It’s going to make toilets great again, the greatest throne in history. I’m not taking questions from the fake news media – let the throne speak for itself.”

Flush-worthy, indeed. DM

The first piece in the Dump on Dictators series, featuring Donald Trump, will be auctioned online by Stephan Welz & Co on 18 June. Find more information here.

Herman Lategan is a Cape Town-based journalist, writer and poet.

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.