Australian beachgoers fed up with a lack of public toilet facilities on their local beaches came up with a very literal way to show their displeasure: by bringing their own toilets to the beach.

On Sunday morning the dozen protesters, each dressed in top hats and suits, carried their toilets down to the shore at Henley Beach in Adelaide, dropped their pants and sat down for a spell, reading newspapers and shivering in the cold of Australia's winter as onlookers stared.

The protest was not just a protest but a work of art. The organizer, local artist Andrew Baines, took photographs of the protesters and plans to paint the scene for an exhibition that will debut in January 2013.

"I think that's the goal of an artist, is to take these issues to the world community and let people talk about it," Baines told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

The protesters, who included everyone from a local radio personality to a former immigration minister, dropped their pants to demand that the local council add beachside toilet facilities so that beachgoers don't have to venture out to use the toilets at nearby local cafes.

The local council says it is working with the community to find the best space for a facility, while café owners say they have been waiting on the council to act for the last 13 years, according to ABC.