A very adults-only art gallery was unveiled in Toronto this week, part of a campaign for the bidet brand Tushy.
Launched by Canadian entrepreneur Miki Agrawal (top), the brand is emphasizing its environmental benefits thanks to reduced use of toilet paper and, therefore, trees saved.
In other words, people using a Tushy are environmental heroes, according to Tushy, and more specifically, well, their a**holes are heroes. That’s the idea behind “A**hole Activists,” the gallery of 20 very close-up portraits of said heroic anuses, introduced just ahead of World Environment Day, June 5.
Each black-and-white shot, by Toronto fashion photographer Ara Coutts (right), includes the individual’s name, their environmental motivations for owning a Tushy, and the trees or water saved by using one in their home.
Citing Natural Resource Defense Council data, Tushy says “big toilet paper” is responsible for cutting down 28 million acres of Canadian forests since 1996, with each roll of toilet paper requiring 0.7 kilograms of wood and 140 litres of water to produce. In contrast, bidet use results in 80% less toilet paper.
(Though the campaign is about preventing unnecessary deforestation, some of the subjects might have considered a little clear-cutting of their own, know what I’m sayin’)
“Buttholes, much like the forests we deplete and the dumps we overflow, are usually kept out of sight and out of mind,” said Agrawal in a release introducing “A**hole Activists.”
While the campaign may seem shocking, Agrawal has long been known as someone who proudly challenges taboos. Before Tushy, she launched period-proof underwear brand Thinx in 2011, though she resigned in 2017 after complaints about her taboo-breaking behaviour around the office.
She’s also written two books, and her website features a Fast Company quote describing her as someone who “brings the wit and provocation of a performance artist to marketing products that have historically been associated with shame.”
In the release, she said that she hopes the “uncomfortable metaphor” of the gallery will “spur positive, everyday change.
“From this focused attention, we aim to slow, or better yet completely end, future chopping of trees in the Canadian Boreal Forest for the use of toilet paper,” she said.
“Throughout history, portraiture has captured those who’ve made a difference,” added Coutts. “With the prevalence of climate change today, it’s an honour to help Tushy photograph a generation of heroes who are making a positive difference through everyday actions and to create art with impact.”
The IRL gallery was only up for one day in Toronto’s Arta Gallery, but an online version is still live (see it here though very NSFW), and people can enter for a chance to become an a-hole activist—a trip to Toronto to have their own backside photographed by Coutts, and a Tushy Classic bidet.
And yes, it’s been a bit of a week for below-the-waist stories at The Message. We’ll try to clean up our act next week.
