Best Seat in the House
When many of us think about a toilet we hardly think of it as a luxury item.
But for 1.5 billion – that's nearly 1 in 5 people in the world, a decent toilet is out of reach.
Without decent toilets, girls and women are particularly affected. Their safety, hygiene and dignity are all compromised.
When girls don’t have decent toilets in schools, they’re forced to stay home when they’re on their periods, missing out on their education and future career prospects. It’s almost impossible to have your period hygienically without a decent loo.
Millions of people go without this human right every day.
That's why WaterAid teamed up with photographer and director Rankin, to elevate the status of the humble loo and celebrate toilets for the lifesavers they are.
To learn more about the seats and what inspired each artist, have a scroll through our galloory to take a virtual tour of these luminous loo seats, and hear how these 25 diverse artists and creative celebrities were inspired to get people talking about toilets.
BAMBI
Koko B-loo
Graffiti artist Bambi keeps her identity mystery, that along with her intricate stencil and aerosol work, she has become widely known as ‘The female Banksy’.
Her work focuses on contemporary female identity and its relationship to patriarchal culture, the commodification of the art world, and political injustices. Her work often uses contemporary icons and pop-culture references to create poignant social and political commentary.
“Being an artist is about creative freedom. I want to save the world and that’s why social commentary is always present in my work. It’s easy to live with your eyes shut but that’s not fulfilling or helpful to the world."
Bambi chose to feature her Koko the gorilla range. The image of the gorilla, usually viewed as aggressive animals, is juxtaposed with the blue bow it wears to represent its more gentle, softer side. The spirit animal of a gorilla is often associated with strength, courage and protection.
Boy George
Piss & Love
Boy George is a musician and multimedia artist. He became a world star as lead singer of the iconic band Culture Club. With a plethora of albums and accolades under his belt, his art matches his music and personality: colourful, bold and provocative.
“My toilet seat is a punk throne of defiance. The bladder is in some quarters considered the fountain of truth. Spiritual types will tell you that if you have issues with your bladder, you’re not speaking the truth.
“I feel my art, my inspiration and my reason for doing anything is always about emotion. Even if I’m doing something for a charity, there has to be an element of humour and optimism in the work."
I love the concept. A lot of serious thinking can be done on the throne.
Lets get Lippy
by Val Garland
Best Liz in the house
by Pure Evil
Peach Seat
by Daisy Collingridge
Taboo toilet
by Liaqat Rasul
Decent toilets are a human right.
“I used to have a fear during menstruation. I had to leave the school between classes because of the menstruation. I missed lessons.
Everyone deserves a decent and reliable toilet that can withstand the effects of climate change.
This means toilets that won't flood because of the weather, risking contamination of water sources and spreading disease.
Extreme weather such as cyclones can destroy poorly designed infrastructure.
When there are no appropriate toilets at school, girls simply don't go, missing out on their education and opportunities for the future.
Everyone deserves a decent toilet
For schoolgirls like Anjali, a decent toilet at school is the difference between a quality education and falling behind.
When girls miss out on clean water, decent toilets and good hygiene, they miss out on the knowledge to create change.
Climate change is making life harder for people who already struggle to get clean water, access decent toilets and good hygiene.
→ Meet more people affected by extreme weather
If you would like to own one of our seats and contribute to our life-saving work, register to bid now.
Carrie Reichardt
Mad in England
Carrie Reichardt’s award-winning public work often focuses on marginalized groups – and in particular, women and their hidden histories.
“Water is such a basic human need that I wanted to do anything I could to raise funds and consciousness about WaterAid's important work."
"My design uses my trademark logo: Mad in England, a pun on British eccentricity and being a renegade pottery, and that it is mad that so little ceramics is now produced in the UK.
Charlotte Colbert
Meaningful thrones
Toilets are the only meaningful thrones.
Charlotte Colbert is an established artist and an award-winning filmmaker.
Charlotte’s pink eye flower theme toilet installation symbolises that all toilets are meaningful thrones. The flowers surrounding the toilet seat represent nature and life cycle, the mirrors give the viewer the chance to pause and reflect the magnificence and often overlooked importance of the humble toilet.
She told us: "I love the idea of turning the toilet into a flower, elevating it back to its original stature of instigator of the life cycle."
Chila Burman
Punjabi Rockers 2
Chila Burman examines representation, gender and cultural identity in her work.
Chila Burman works across a wide range of mediums including printmaking, drawing, painting, installation and film. Chila calls herself a “Punjabii-Liverpudlian” and through her lived experiences she examines representation, gender and cultural identity in her work and often uses self-portraiture as a tool for empowerment and self-determination.
Chila was inspired by her Punjabi heritage, where her own relatives were only recently able to access a toilet. This fun design is full of colour and energy, a collage of vibrant images and slogans with an Indian pop art vibe focusing on female empowerment, representing how women and girls are able to fulfill their potential when they have access to a decent toilet and clean water close to home.
“I was thrilled to be invited to be a part of this project, which seeks to reposition the toilet seat as a luxury, reflecting the reality that the humble toilet seat acts to prevent the spread of disease.
"We take for granted how significant a toilet seat is, but my own relatives in Punjab were only recently able to get a toilet.
"Billions of people around the world don’t have a working toilet, it’s a basic human right and I’m so pleased to be a part of this project helping to raise awareness."
Daisy Collingridge
Peach Seat
Daisy is a London-based artist whose multi-disciplinary work is rooted in the investigation of the human form. Her sculptures are an immersive exploration of fabric, form and flesh.
“The purpose of my work is to challenge preconceptions about beauty. My previous work has evoked both repulsion and admiration.
"Toilets are not just about clean sanitation, providing better hygiene and preventing the spread of disease; they also provide safe and secure spaces. Not having a toilet at home or in public spaces can be particularly challenging for women and girls as finding somewhere private to relieve themselves puts them at increased risk of harassment or attack."
Toilets are not sexy, but they are and have been pivotal change-makers in society. We need to recognise and celebrate their importance.
George Morton-Clark
Footsteps
“The piece is inspired by the millions of young girls all over the world who lack access to a flushing toilet, which risks their health, safety and education.
The bare feet represent the hundreds of steps they take every day through waste and the constant risk of disease.”
British artist George Morton-Clark works in major collections all over the world.
His work invites viewers to reconsider instantly recognizable imagery and the division between art and design.
Gina Soden
Abandoned
Photographer Gina Soden is interested in abandoned structures and locations, exploring the boundaries of beauty, decay, nostalgia and neglect.
This piece uses imagery of toilets left behind in abandoned buildings to highlight how the global sanitation crisis is often overlooked and forgotten about. The view from the window and the green plants give a sense of hope and transformation.
"I wanted to help raise awareness to keep girls in school and more importantly keep them safe from disease
"I used imagery of toilets left behind in abandoned buildings to highlight how much on this earth is wasted, and how others don't even have access to toilets and basic sanitation. It is such an important issue."
Harry Hill
Lucky Loo
You might not think "artist" when Harry Hill comes to mind, but the comedian and TV presenter has many talents, and has exhibited his work at art festivals.
"Ah the great British tradition of toilet humour! But toilets, I have discovered, thanks to this collaboration with WaterAid, are a serious business.
"One in five people around the world does not have a decent toilet at home, which puts their health and safety at risk.
“That’s where the idea of toilets being lucky items came from – and which inspired my toilet seat design. Plus the seat kind of reminded me of a horse shoe.
"They may not quite be able to ward off devils, ghosts and junk-mail, as I suggest in my design, but if they can protect people from disease and keep kids in school, then they are the best seat in the house in my book.”
Haseebah Ali
Comfort
Haseebah Ali is an artist and arts educator based in Birmingham. Her work centres around cultural themes and occasionally political circumstances. Haseebah's artistic aim is to create work that not only educates her but the audience to which it is viewed.
Haseebah Ali’s seat ‘Comfort’ serves as a powerful reminder of the basic right to safe and secure . Reflecting on the many young girls who miss school due to lack of proper sanitation, it symbolises the comfort and dignity that accessible toilets bring.
"For my design, I wanted to highlight the difference between bad water hygiene and good water hygiene. For the side showing the bad water hygiene, the germs and the dark colouring show a lack of opportunity.
"On the other side with the clean water you can see it is bright. I placed flowers to show the blossoming effect and they also link to femininity.
"I wanted to show how rare clean water and toilets can be for some communities around the world and how this particularly affects young girls, who often have to miss school when they are on their period, holding them back from fulfilling their dreams.
It is amazing how something as simple as a toilet, has the power to change lives so profoundly.
"I don’t think a lot of people know about the sanitation crisis. We need have a heavy conversation about it as that is what will create change."
Hayden Kays
Hopes And Dreams
Hayden Kays is influenced by the pop art from the '50s, but has most ties with street art. Hayden has been widely acclaimed as one of the most provocative artists of his generation producing work that celebrates and critiques the all pervasive “culture industry."
His work is characterised by bold imagery, acerbic word play and humour.
“I love that my toilet seat art is up for auction to raise money for WaterAid and help transform lives around the world.
Being a part of this felt like a perfect project for me as it’s often said my work is puerile toilet humour. Jokes aside, toilets save lives and it’s been great to be involved.
Jessica Albarn
Beeseat
“I have been using my work to raise awareness for the plight of the bee for many years now.
"Bees like humans need clean water. So, having a toilet seat crawling with bees made sense to me: a play on what we usually associate with poor sanitation – flies!
"The aim was for the toilet seat to look rarefied and beautiful –and to celebrate how important clean safe water is to our health, well-being and ecosystem."
Jessica Albarn is known for her fine line drawings on paper. She also explores surface using glass clay wax and honey. She often incorporates pressed flowers and insects into her work.
Joe Sweeney
Sanctuary
Joe Sweeney is a conceptual artist working with a visual language created through British idiosyncrasies, nostalgia and everyday references and the banal. Through quick observation, the artist encourages a pause for thought on the daily interactions that we don’t always pay attention to. He has had solo exhibitions in London and Kent and had pieces exhibited in India and at Frieze.
Joe Sweeney’s seat ‘Sanctuary’ represents everything a toilet should be, a safe clean, private space. The word “engaged” emblazoned on the front highlights the millions that are not able to access this basic human right, but also to capture the viewers attention to the issue.
Liaqat Rasul
Taboo Toilet
Liaqat describes himself as a gay, Welsh, dyslexic Pakistani man and collage artist. He is a multidisciplinary artist, specialising in textiles, using every day items such as discarded paper and other items to create collages that are abstract, cartographic and vividly vibrant. Starting out in the fashion industry before branching into art, he has exhibited in London and Margate and more recently his first solo exhibition in Wrexham, NAU, NAU, DOH, CHAAR,” which follows his roots as a visionary fashion designer to the instantly recognisable and impactful work that defines him today.
“I’m absolutely delighted and proud to be working on this project. Clean water and decent toilets should be a given, no matter where you live.
‘Taboo toilet’ is all about breaking toilet taboos that still exist. The artist has recycled discarded every day items to create a collage that has reinvented the toilet as a thing of beauty
"It’s shocking that 1.5 billion people around the world don’t have a decent toilet of their own, impacting on their health, safety and hopes for the future.
"We need to change this.”
Martin Parr
Martin Parr is best known for his documentary photography.
Parr’s work has been collected by many of the leading museums, from the Tate, the Pompidou Centre, to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
The piece is deliberately provocative forcing the viewer to look at a moment that should be a private one but is on display for all to see. This reflects the reality of the millions that have no choice but to defecate in the open, and forces us to think about an issue that is not an easy one to address.
The photo was taken by Martin on match day near to the Manchester United football stadium.
Martin Parr’s distinctive style of photography captures the oddities and humours of everyday British life through a vibrantly coloured, hyper-realistic lens. His use of bright colours and vivid images has gained him the reputation as a renowned satirical photojournalist.
Nettie Wakefield
Golden Toilet
Nettie Wakefield is a British artist who works in pencil, bronze sculpture, mixed media and watercolour.
“I spray painted my seat gold as an homage to the solid 18 karat gold toilet seat that was stolen from the family home of Winston Churchill - Blenheim Palace.
"The sculpture by Italian artist Maurizio Cattelana was estimated at $4 million in gold and as an artwork was valued at $6 million.
“I wanted to really play with the idea of value with my golden seat.
"On the one hand, we have a toilet seat being stolen because of its immense value, and on the other hand it's something we take for granted in the western world and then there are millions in the developing world who lack the luxury of plumbing at all let alone basic water services.”
Ozwald Boateng
Tribal
Ghanaian fashion designer Ozwald Boateng is celebrating over 25 years in the industry.
“Being part of something that fuses creativity and philanthropy, while advocating for the African continent through its work, is always humbling. The design of the seat was inspired by my ancestry and my creative foundation, returning to the core of traditional Ghanaian cloth and print.
"The colours within the fabric express a potent message of mother earth, healing, grounding rebirth, growth and light. Those are the sentiments I want each and every person to connect to within this project."
“It’s been a privilege to be part of WaterAid’s Best Seat in the House project, joining with other artists to fuse creativity and philanthropy to celebrate the humble toilet, which has the power to change people’s lives for good.
“I’m delighted that my art will now help raise money for WaterAid’s work towards a world where everyone has clean water and a decent toilet.”
Pam Hogg
The Throne
Fashion designer Pam Hogg has been making a statement with her designs since the 1980s.
"It's always a great pleasure to give my creative energy to a well needed charity, and WaterAid is vital for so many reasons.
“Toilets shouldn’t be a luxury reserved for some but an essential for all. I wanted to make my toilet seat for WaterAid’s Best Seat in the House a true throne, draped in gold with leftover fabrics from previous collections to raise awareness that one in five people do not have the luxury of a toilet.
This crisis affects women and girls disproportionately. Toilets help keep girls safe and in school, and also helps prevent the spread of diseases. I’m hoping we’ll get lots of bids for the toilet seat artworks to raise much needed money for WaterAid’s work and help transform people’s health and education.”
"The simple washing of hands is paramount, especially during the current pandemic, but few of us consider or could imagine what life is like when you can't flush a water cistern.
"This affects women and girls disproportionately. Toilets help keep girls safe and in school, and also help prevent the spread of diseases.
Toilets shouldn’t be a luxury reserved for some, but an essential for all.
The slang for toilet is the throne, and to emphasize, luxury for some, I created a fantasy gold draped and frilled one with recycled leftover fabrics from previous collections. I added gold bows to represent the gift, to inspire much needed donations to this essential cause. "
Pure Evil
Best Liz in the house
Charles Uzzell Edwards a.k.a. PURE EVIL is known for his signature bunny tag which can be spotted around London, and his Nightmare series of dripping celebrity portraits.
His recognisable work has been taken his work around the world and more recently, on a toilet seat to raise awareness of the millions of people who live without access to the basic human right of a decent toilet.
Roo Dhissou
Honouring your customs
Roo's art explores the relationships and connections we have with one another as well as how we formulate a sense of self.
"The opportunity to work with WaterAid, was an absolute privilege. As someone who grew up in Punjab, I am familiar with the attention taken to preserve limited water resources.
"My toilet seat ‘A seat of their own’ is complete with a milk bottle for washing your bottom as well as a squatting seat to emphasise the conversation between health, culture and water systems."
Seema Mattu
Matilda
Seema Mattu's art is framed as a theme park - known as SEEMAWORLD.
“My toilet seat is just that - a seat. By moulding the toilet seat into furniture, this sculpture comments on the luxury of access to simple amenities that should be reachable for all.
"A toilet can transform lives, especially for women and girls, helping to keep them healthy, safe and in school.”
Soozy Lipsey
That's All Folks!
An ideas-driven Glaswegian artist, Soozy Lipsey has been working across multiple platforms for 25 years.
Repurposing existing - or ‘found’ - objects and images, Lipsey transforms nostalgia into the uncanny though combinational techniques. To put it plainly: leave behind everything you thought you knew and enter the wonderful world of Soozy Lipsey.
Simply put, she said: "Clean water - That's all folks - a basic necessity"
Sophie Tea
Tickles
Sophie Tea is an internationally acclaimed painter and creative visionary known for disrupting the art industry by creating a brand which is accessible to all.
With over 1.5 million followers across her social platforms, she has broken the traditional gallery route. She is celebrated for empowering women and helping them feel more confident in themselves.
"I was inspired by WaterAid’s idea of turning a common object like a toilet seat into a piece of boujee style luxury art to tell a story, spark conversation and raise money to make a difference. The bejewelled glamorous toilet juxtaposes with the stark reality that nearly 1.5 billion people around the world don’t have a toilet of their own.
“Many of us take toilets for granted, but they have the power to transform lives, particularly for girls and women, who are most affected by lack of good sanitation, putting their health and safety at risk and keeping them out of school.
“I want to use this piece to highlight that having a decent toilet should never be a luxury—it should be a basic right for everyone, everywhere.”
Val Garland
Let's get Lippy
Val Garland, is a London-based Make-up Artist, author and judge on BBC TV series Glow Up.
"I think it’s so important that everyone should have access to a decent toilet. It is common decency, it’s people’s dignity. Think of girls and women who have just started their periods, you need access to a toilet. Think of the last year, imagine during the pandemic without hygiene. It just seems so wrong.
"I want the shocking fact that one in five people don’t have a toilet to be on everyone’s lips. So, I took the idea of lips as the basis of my toilet seat design to get people talking about this vital issue. Not having a decent toilet impacts particularly on women and girls; that’s why I am supporting WaterAid’s vision that everyone, everywhere should have access to this basic human right.
"My toilet artwork is now up for auction, and I hope that it can raise awareness and funds for WaterAid’s work around the world. Let’s all talk toilets and make a change!”
Dame Zandra Rhodes
Water circles
Dame Zandra Rhodes has been a notorious figurehead of the UK fashion industry for five decades.
"It has been a pleasure to partner with WaterAid on this project. A working toilet should be a basic human right for everyone, but almost 2 billion people around the world don’t have access to something so important.
"One of my archive prints ‘Chinese Water Circles’ can be seen printed onto silk organza and draped over the seat to emulate water.
"It has created perfect waves and golden swirls, to highlight that a toilet and access to water is, unfortunately, in some countries, still a luxury."
Everyone deserves access to a clean toilet
Some of these seats have now been sold at auction and some are still on sale. Watch this space to find out how you can own your own unique best seat in the house piece and support girls like Sadia, Anjali and Resika.