Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani made an exhibit about poop

The unpublished photos were taken in 1998 for COLORS Magazine and are about human and animal poop

As reported here, a new exhibit by the famous Italian photographer Oliviero Toscani (born in 1942 in Milan) about poop took place at Galleria Lampo in Milan from February 21st, 2024, to March 24th, 2024.

“Poop is the only thing a human being takes without copying others; there’s nothing more personal, and every time it’s a work of art,” said the photographer.
Human and animal stools (such as those of chimpanzees, cows, giraffes, hyenas, pigs, lions, ducks, goldfish, pythons, buffalos, tigers, and crickets) are the protagonists of ‘CACAS: Non è tutto oro quel che luccica‘ (Poops: Not all that glitters is gold).

Nicolas Ballario who organized the exhibit, says: “With the title ‘Not all that glitters is gold’, we want to warn people that things are not as they seem. Toscani subverts fear and uses these words positively, showing that art can fascinate everything, including poop, which stands out in his photos.”

CACAS presents some works made by COLORS in 1998 (the magazine Toscani and Tibor Kalmon founded in 1991 and published until 2014) that haven’t been shown. However, the tidbit was the sponsor: Sebach, an Italian company leader in renting portable sanitation solutions, which not only promoted the exhibit but also created a custom set-up for the occasion. But it wasn’t the first collaboration with Toscani. In 2006, the photographer restyled the brand using an upside-down heart, which marked a breakthrough in the company’s communication.

Oliviero Toscani has worked for the most famous magazines and brands in the world, creating pictures and advertising campaigns for Fiorucci, Toyota, Ministry of Labour, Ministry of Environment and Health, Artemide, Croce Rossa Italiana, Fondazione Umberto Veronesi, …

He collaborates with magazines such as Elle, Vogue, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Esquire, Stern, Liberation, and L’Espresso moving between Parigi, Milano, Londra, and New York. Above all, he created the identity of the United Colors of Benetton brand, shifting the communication strategy towards messages of peace and tolerance, social problems like AIDS and the death penalty, integration, and equality.

He conceived and directed COLORS Magazine, including the Fabrica research center, and founded La Sterpaia, a laboratory on modern communication. He was awarded prestigious awards such as four times the Leone D’Oro at the Festival of Cannes, twice the Gran Premio d’Affichage, the Gran Premio of UNESCO, the Creative Hero Award of Saatchi & Saatchi and several awards from the Art Directors Club from all around the world.