Artist puts toilets on the beach

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HENLEY BEACH, Australia, Aug. 20 (UPI) -- An Australian artist's beachfront installation employed sharply dressed volunteers to sit on toilets to highlight a local restroom controversy.

Andrew Baines said his Saturday installation in Henley Beach, which was titled "Coalition of the Constipated" and involved several volunteers in black suits and bowler hats sitting atop a row of toilets placed at the beach, was inspired by a local debate over whether to put a restroom on the beach, The Advertiser reported Monday.

"I've been a long-time resident of Henley and Grange and what I didn't realize, brooding in the background, is there has been an ongoing debate amongst residents, the local council and the cafes about the building of a toilet on the beachfront," Baines said. "Some people want it, some people don't. Hopefully by doing this today, we will highlight the issue and the wider community will come forward and we'll have a solution."

Baines said it is his "job as an artist to bring these things to the forefront."