What do you think this is a picture of? Concrete slabs the colour of pooh? If you guessed this, then you’re half right, but instead of it being the colour of pooh, it actually IS the foul excretion! I know, that gag reflex is pretty involuntary isn’t it?

The next question is most certainly ‘why?,’ which would likely be followed by ‘it must be art,’ and not just art, but contemporary art, under which pretty much anything under the sky falls into. If it doesn’t make sense, it’s probably art.

And right you are. Part of the latest exhibit in London’s Lisson Gallery, Spanish artist Santiago Sierra’s most recent work consists of a display of 21 rectangular sculptures, each measuring 215×75x20 cm and made out of human feces blended with a plastic-based substance to hold it in place (the crap is too old to retain any of its original odour so you can stop imagining it).

The term ‘contemporary’ is often synonymous to ‘abstract,’ but in this case, the message could not be more literal. On closer inspection, you’ll find out that the feces was collected in New Delhi and Jaipur by female workers whose caste (or social standing) makes it impossible for them to strive for a more dignified vocation. These structures were put up in an effort to raise awareness of this archaic social system, and to encourage people to donate to Sulabh International (a social service organization that promotes among other things, environmental sanitation and waste management) to build a viable plumbing system.

But if a plumbing system was created before the caste system was eradicated, then what would become of the women who’s livelihoods depended on the country’s lack of modern technology?