Known for his exceedingly provocative style, Czech sculptor David Černý has been peppering Prague with his whimsical works for decades now. In 2004, he created one of his most notable statues – “Piss”, a fountain comprised of two sculpted male figures whose phallus unendingly ejects a water-made urine.

Located at the courtyard in front of Franz Kafka Museum in Prague old town, the patina-colored bronze sculptures feature a striated texture, as if they were fabricated by a 3D printer. Curiously, what might seem like an arbitrary stream is an in fact a well-calculated movement. Equipped with a rotating pelvis and a wiggling wiener, the pair meticulously controls the movement of its watery pee to inscribe letters across the surface of the water in the fountain’s basin.

While for the most part, the various words constitute a medley of phrases taken from famous Czech poems and novels, sometimes however, the two statues quiver their bronze genitals at the whim of nearby gawkers. As it turns out, anyone can command the fountain to write a bespoke message by sending an SMS message to the artwork’s official phone number (+420 724 370 770).

Aside from the tinkling duo, the installation also includes a shallow pool whose shape is modeled after the map of the Czech Republic, or Czechia. This choice of design was no coincidence as Černý opted to walk on thin ice by evoking all sorts of responses. Whether this odd fountain is a mere provocation or an Avant-Garde art is up for you to determine, one fact is evident though, “Piss” is anything but ignorable.

photography by: Jan Polák/ Wikimedia Commons

photography by: Satdeep Gill/ Wikimedia Commons

photography by: Kenyh Cevarom/ Wikimedia Commons

photography by: Alexander Baranov/ Wikimedia Commons

photography by: MOs810/ Wikimedia Commons

photography by: Balou46/ Wikimedia Commons