Drain
- Artist: Robert Gober
- Date: 1989, 2006
- Medium: Pewter
- Dimensions: Overall display dimensions variable
- Museum: Tate Modern
- Collection record: Tate Modern website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This is the “Drain” by Robert Gober. It’s a sculptural piece made from eight hand‑moulded pewter replicas of a domestic kitchen drain. The originals were cast from a rubber mould taken from a real drain in the artist’s sink, then refined in plaster before a foundry produced the pewter versions. Gober then embedded each drain into the wall at a height of 1.32 m, leaving a dark space behind so that the viewer can’t see beyond them—creating a little portal to a hidden world.
The work plays on the ordinary, turning a familiar household object into a metaphor for unseen, darker realms. “Drain” is one component of Gober’s 1989 room‑sized installation Untitled, which also included a bag of resin‑frozen donuts and hand‑printed wallpaper with genital imagery. Together they sparked conversation about nudity and the public’s attitude toward sex. The piece was first shown in 1989 and revisited in 2006, underscoring its enduring interest.
See it in person
Drain is in the collection of Tate Modern on Bankside, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
