For over half a century, the cultural and social landscape of the East End has served as a muse for the veteran artist duo Gilbert & George. To label them merely a duo, however, would be to underestimate their union: they are, in essence, a singular entity and a single artist, making it impossible to discern where Gilbert ends and George begins—an inseparable Gilbert-and-George. From their vantage point in the East End, they observe the metamorphoses of societal change, clad in timeless tweed, adorning the area with their “sculptural” presence and pairness.

In 2023, they inaugurated an exhibition space here, naming it the “centre” (Gilbert & George Centre) to avoid deterring the public with the “gallery” term, which implies hierarchical relationships between the viewer (consumer) and the author (producer). The term “centre,” on the other hand, serves as an abstract beacon, conceptual and entirely optional, drawing in everyone and everything. Since semantics play a codifying role in Gilbert & George’s work, by using one descriptive concept over another, they manifest, in their own way, a democratic view on art. Art, for them, not only originates from everyday life but also, to some extent, exists for it.

The East End is also a centre, a micro-model of the universe where representatives of various cultures coexist, and the aromas of national cuisines mix. ‘Nothing happens in the world that doesn’t happen in the East End,’ the artists present their habitat. The central theme of the “London Pictures” exhibition, timed to coincide with the first anniversary of the Centre, is the district itself—a prototype of a metropolis as an unsafe and unpredictable place. Though created in 2011, this series of 292 fragments is only now being displayed in its entirety in London. This time lag offers a chance to verify: how has the city changed over 13 years, if at all.

In the creation of “London Pictures,” Gilbert & George “stole” headlines from British tabloids, arranging them in a distinctive grid manner. These textual fragments are superimposed on backgrounds featuring psychedelic patterns of quintessential London elements: road signs, street graffiti, and of course, brickwork. Amidst this symmetric cacophony, the figures of Gilbert & George emerge in various forms—sometimes in full height, sometimes distorted, and occasionally as mere body parts.

Gilbert & George are moulded by the paradoxes, conventions, and contradictions of society. They embody a blend of mischief and traditionalism. Known for their odious statements like “Nothing is more important than a smile,” they warn of an environment filled with aggression, tension, injustice, and hooliganism—an environment we all inhabit: “Man beheaded on a street in North London,” “Charity chief stole £22,000,” “Granny rapist jailed for 8 years.” Throughout their career (and by their career itself), Gilbert & George have posited that ‘life, sex, and death are the primary images of modernity’; and, the “London Pictures” is precisely life, sex, and death. The artists “literally” incorporate this trinity into the very fabric of art, creating a collection that serves as both a social commentary and an ethical, aesthetic, and experimental depiction of the contemporary era.

Just two streets away from the “centre,” on Fournier St, Gilbert & George live and work, actors of a single performance that expresses both dedication and an original stance. Their phrase, ‘We have no theories why we do this,’ is a staple in almost any interview, open to various interpretations. They also profess to have no friends, no home kitchen, and no need for anyone: they have each other, their art (‘the only thing we get away with’), and their enduring connection to East End and tweed.

The “London Pictures” exhibition runs throughout 2024, from Wednesday to Sunday, 11am to 6pm.