Gilbert and George: We have to agree or we’d be finished
The pair shot to fame as “living sculptures” and have collaborated since meeting at art school.
Artists Gilbert and George have unveiled their new work The Beard Pictures and told how they “have to agree” or “we’d be finished”.
The Beard Pictures show the duo wearing beards made of wire mesh, beer foam and standing in front of and behind barbed wire.
Their Fuckosophy, also on display at London’s White Cube, is a collection of nearly 4,000 pronouncements and mottoes created by the pair, who shot to fame as “living sculptures”.
Asked whether they ever disagree on their creations, Italian-born Gilbert, 74, told the Press Association: “I think we have to agree. Otherwise we would be finished!
“We have a great sense of purpose. We know where we want to go… You don’t have to be one person only to have a view.”
George, 75, said: “It’s a secret. It’s a great secret. … It’s two people but one artist.”
And he added: “When we’re asked, ‘What happens if one of you dies?’ We say ‘fall under a taxi or a bus you mean? Fear not, we always cross the road together’.”
“We started to see barbed wire all over Europe, all over the world in a new way, burglar alarms all over the world, and beards sticking through the wire.”
