At Fuorisalone 2021, TOILETPAPER joined forces with the eclectic brand par excellence, Desigual, with internationally renowned artist Maurizio Cattelan and photographer Pierpaolo Ferrari, to present an installation that makes you dream. 

Inside the Cozzi swimming pool, one of the municipal swimming pools in Milan that is part of the Milanosport circuit, framed by the monumental architecture designed by engineer Luigi Lorenzo Secchi in 1934, “BE WATER” was presented – in the presence of the authors and the Mayor Beppe Sala – a huge mural that covers a surface area of 246 square metres and is reflected in the water. 

Maurizio Cattelan said “The Cozzi pool is part of my life, when I’m in Milan I go there every day to swim. It is a place to which I have been attached for years, and when the possibility of creating a project for these spaces, which have something magical, solemn, was born, a thought took shape that has accompanied me on several occasions during my swims in Cozzi”.

The mural was made with special paint that is resistant to humidity and maintains the brilliance of the colour. The painting depicts a young woman lying on the surface of the water, as the only parts that emerge from the surface are her face and hands. TOILETPAPER’s unique touch can be found in the red of the lipstick and nail polish that stand out against the blue of the water, but also in the double reading of the work: is the woman covered and safe or is she overpowered and trapped? Everyone is free to interpret it as they see fit. 

On this subject, Pierpaolo Ferrari declared “TOILETPAPER is for us the possibility of imagining without limits, in the images, but also in the contaminations that occur, often accidentally, with other worlds, as demonstrated by the meeting with Desigual, the Municipality and Milanosport. BE WATER is the largest reproduction ever made of one of our photographs. It is also surprising for us to see how, while enormously amplifying the surface and using another medium, the images of the magazine retain their original strength/identity”.

“BE WATER” will be on view to all visitors from Tuesday 7 to Friday 10 September and to pool users until the end of September 2022.