The pair are perhaps best known for their large scale photo works, known as The Pictures. The early work in this style is in black and white, later with hand-painted red and yellow touches. They proceeded to use a range of bolder colours, sometimes backlit, and overlaid with black grids. Their work has addressed a wide variety of subject matter including religion and patriotism. The two artists also often appear in their own "pictures". They have described their "pictures" as a sort of "visual love letter from us to the viewer".
In 1986, Gilbert & George were criticized for a series of pictures seemingly glamourizing 'rough types' of London's East end such as skinheads. Some of their work has attracted media attention because of the inclusion of (potentially) shocking imagery, such as nudity, depictions of sexual acts, and bodily fluids (faces, urine and semen). The titles of these works, such as "Naked Shit Pictures" (1994) and "Sonofagod Pictures" (2005), also contributed to the attention.
Gilbert and George say: 'We want Our Art to speak across the barriers of knowledge directly to People about their Life and not about their knowledge of art. The 20th century has been cursed with an art that cannot be understood.'
Richard Dorment says 'When it comes to the art of Gilbert and George, my fate is to be eternally out of sync with the rest of the world. For years, whenever I said how much I admired their work, friends would roll their eyes and strangers would leave the room, they don't understand the art behind the images'
I personally think that some of Gilbert and George's work can be very offencive, but it was more of a shock to people when they first used to show there work but now a days we see stuff like this on TV almost every day. Some of there work to me sends a message across while others don't, but that's just the way every individual sees things differently.
