Overall Installation:The “Third Space” of Contemporary Art Scene:Taking Kabakovs Toilet as an Example

In 1992, Soviet artist Ilya Kabakov created a dirty, crude and old Soviet-style. toilet at the Documenta exhibition in Kassel, sparking significant attention and controversy. This work embodied Kabakov' s concept of “total installation, ” a notion that resonates with postcolonial philosopher Homi K. Bhabha' s theory of the “third space. ” This paper will use Kabakov' s 1992 Documenta work The Toilet as a case study to explore how his “total installation” constructs a “third space” in the contemporary art scene, and try to realize Kabakov' s own utopian dream.