2002.4 - PEEING VESSEL

I made this piece as another dig at Bruce. He assigned a pouring vessel as a final exam, but I told him I was sure he had said “peeing vessel”. A Chinese fertility goddess that my friend, Kirsti Wang, gave me as a gift inspired this piece. The goddess is made of porcelain, stands about a foot tall, and rides atop a fish that looks like a carp. In one hand she holds a gold bottle that slowly drips water into the fish’s open mouth. As an engineer, the first thing I think about is, “How does she work?” Since I can’t break her to find out, I surmise that there is a pouch inside that holds a reservoir of water. At any rate, that is how the little peeing boy works. Additionally, the whole thing is plumbed with a pump, and he will pee for hours at a time.