Overall - image provided by exhibitor, not for public use

Self on Toilet

Series TitleDaily doodles, 2001-2023

Artist Gonkar Gyatso (Tibetan, born 1961)

DateApril 21, 2007

MediumPencil, ink, stickers, paper cut-out on fine art paper

DimensionsFramed: 13 1/4 × 11 7/8 × 2 inches (33.66 × 30.16 × 5.08 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the generosity of the Foyer Foundation and the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund

Object number2025.29.15

On View

Not on view

Terms

DescriptionThis is a self-portrait of the artist during a private moment at someone else’s house. While sitting on the toilet, he scrolls at his phone. He is dressed casually and wears a facemask. There is a potted, flowering plant sitting to his right on top of a stack of books of various sizes. The bathroom is bare and drawn without detail. Instead, the wall space and floor are covered in various stickers and Chinese text.

Text:
Above Gonkar’s head is the air quality number, “112 AQI”, written in a spiked, light blue cloud.

The purple text to the right of Gonkar reads, “Without cybersecurity, there is no national security." This is a quote from President Xi Jinping in a speech where he emphasized the need to strengthen national cybersecurity.

The other short texts throughout the composition read:
“Barbecue”,
“Chuan-Yu”, which is the simplified word for Sichuan-Chongqing.
“Fish Mint”, a local vegetable in the Yunnan-Guizhou area.
“Ophthalmology”,
and “Hand-Made Black Tofu Pudding”.

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.