Perhaps you’ve wondered why a statue of a man urinating stands here. This is De Wildplasser Sculpture. It’s more than just a funny sight.
De Wildplasser Sculpture is in Amsterdam-Zuid at the IJsbaanpad. It’s a work by artist Erik Kessels. The year of creation was 2011. It links amateur football and the act of public urination.
Amsterdam’s ASV Arsenal football club got a new sports field. It is connected to the Olympic Stadium. They wanted art for the club and the area. The project was called Terreinwinst. Eleven artists created art that replaced advertising. The art had to relate to sports. Erik Kessels from KesselsKramer designed De Wildplasser.
Kessels saw a connection. Amateur footballers often relieve themselves by the field. The statue is modeled after an older Arsenal member. Public urination has existed for centuries. Rembrandt van Rijn even painted a woman urinating in 1631. The word “wildplassen” only appeared in the 1990s.
Other artworks were part of Terreinwinst. One was Roeptoeter. It was a megaphone shaped like a cone. It represented shouting parents on the sidelines. Another artwork was a row of bucket seats. They sat on high poles. These showed calmer spectators.
De Wildplasser isn’t the only pee-related art in Amsterdam. There are also plaskrullen. These are iron urinals from the late 19th century. The Public Works Department designed them. They aimed to provide public toilets.
The plaskrullen had a spiral-shaped iron plate. It stood on four legs. The top was perforated for light. They were painted dark green. Tile floors had a stone plate and drain. The city cleaned them with canal water. Some had roofs.
Plaskrullen were also designed with transparency in mind. Agents could see if more than one person was inside. This was important because gay men used them for cruising. By the late 1990s, this was rare.
The first plaskrullen appeared around 1870. A double krul was placed at the Paleis voor Volksvlijt in 1877. In 1916, Jan van der Mey created a new design. It lacked ornaments and had a half-cylinder cap.
In 1928, the urinoir commission formed. They decided where to place the krullen. They also built public toilets with phones, taps, and toilets. But these closed due to high costs. In 2008, all plaskrullen were restored. In 2017, the city had thirty-five.
These urinals are mainly for men. The urinoir commission felt they were for men working on the street. Enclosed toilets cost more. The design prevented indecent acts. In 1970, Dolle Mina protested. They tied pink ribbons around the krullen. They demanded equal “pee rights”.
Amsterdam has started using plaskruizen and verzinkbare urinoirs. These are mainly for nightlife areas. In 2016, a verzinkbaar urinoir was placed at the Palace on the Dam. It includes both men’s and women’s urinals.
Amsterdam has a plan to phase out the old urinals. If a plaskrul breaks, it won’t be replaced. Complaints can also lead to removal. The city wants to be inclusive. The plaskrul, only for men, doesn’t fit this goal. They will be replaced by MVG toilets. These are for men, women, and disabled people.
It is unsure when the plaskrullen will disappear. It could take decades. The city could remove them all tomorrow. Other cities like Paris have done so.
So next time you see De Wildplasser, remember its story. It connects sport, art, and a basic human need in a surprising way. It is a statement of art and culture.