The Museum of Old and New Art (Mona) in Tasmania has displayed Picasso artworks in a female toilet cubicle after losing a legal battle over its Ladies Lounge installation.
Artist and curator Kirsha Kaechele, the wife of Mona’s owner David Walsh, posted a video and images on Instagram on Monday (24 June) showing paintings by the Spanish artist hanging in a toilet.
She announced a “new exhibition at Mona… just for ladies”, explaining that Mona’s toilets were all unisex before the closure of Ladies Lounge “thanks to a lawsuit brought on by a man”.
Kaechele said she “just didn’t know what to do with all those Picassos”. She wrote: “We’ll get the lounge open again as a church / school / boutique glamping accommodation” under section 26 of Tasmania’s Anti Discrimination Act.
Picassos were among the works of art displayed in Mona‘s Ladies Lounge, which was only open to women. Designed as a piece of interactive art, the exhibit was inspired by male-only spaces in Australia throughout history.
However, when New South Wales resident Jason Lau was denied entry to the installation in April of last year, he filed a gender discrimination lawsuit.
Lau won and Mona was ordered to allow “persons who do not identify as ladies” into the space.
New exhibition at Mona “just for ladies”
Mona later lodged an appeal with Tasmania’s civil and administrative tribunal. It said in a statement: “The artwork evokes in men the lived experience of women forbidden from entering certain spaces throughout history.”
Kaechele recently said the installation could “become a toilet… in a large, green velvet room, with butlers who serve champagne”, which would allow it to continue operating as place for women under legal exemptions.
“There is a real precedent for people imbibing in the toilet. People enjoy all kinds of substances in there,” she added.
Images courtesy of Mona
