About

This project focuses on excrement that is either made public or made in public. The main focus is the political and ethical questions about equality and justice that different question about excrement and toileting raise.

Goal

Excrement is political and ethical because it is necessary and central to all life. The purpose of this research is to study and develop the politics of faeces in Finland and globally by

mapping the sensory aspects of faeces and defecation as political and ethical issues
developing the concepts of intestinal and visceral citizenship
analysing (in)equalities of toileting and the socioeconomic stigmatisation of public defecation

By analysing the practices and attitudes around faeces in care, urban spaces, and arts, the aim is to understand the political and ethical aspects of faeces and defecation in Finnish society and in the global context to reduce inequalities related to defecation, to improve the valuation of “dirty work” in addressing the care deficit in aging societies, and to mobilise the radical potential of faeces.

Collaboration

Harrie Livear in collab with Hooper&Rajala: Politics of poop – a collaboration between art and science

Dr Tiina Vaittinen: Emergent Un/Sustainabilities of Care: The Global Political Economy of the Adult Incontinence Pad (PadProject)

Funding

Research Council of Finland (Academy of Finland), 2022-2025.