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| Gilbert and George: ‘We never wanted to become the artists Mother would be ashamed of’ | Gilbert and George: ‘We never wanted to become the artists Mother would be ashamed of’ |
| (10 days later) | |
| London has become the centre of the universe. All the world is here. When we walk to dinner, we sometimes switch off the visual thing, we just listen, and everybody is coming from another language. | London has become the centre of the universe. All the world is here. When we walk to dinner, we sometimes switch off the visual thing, we just listen, and everybody is coming from another language. |
| The world has to be rethought every day. What to maintain and what to change. And that’s why we don’t like religions, because they don’t want change. They want humans to conform to a structure written in stone. | The world has to be rethought every day. What to maintain and what to change. And that’s why we don’t like religions, because they don’t want change. They want humans to conform to a structure written in stone. |
| We only believe in sex. We don’t believe in the dividing of gay and straight. | We only believe in sex. We don’t believe in the dividing of gay and straight. |
| Coming from poor backgrounds, it’s easier if you’re polite. We had to have a suit on, we had to behave to get on in life. Only the Etonians can be hooligans. | |
| We are not sure free galleries are a good idea. They might be full but what does it mean if 95% of the people there wouldn’t choose to go if you had to pay? | We are not sure free galleries are a good idea. They might be full but what does it mean if 95% of the people there wouldn’t choose to go if you had to pay? |
| A hereditary element in society is fantastic. Monarchy is symbolic. People need that imagery. Even the Australians are changing their minds about it. | A hereditary element in society is fantastic. Monarchy is symbolic. People need that imagery. Even the Australians are changing their minds about it. |
| The definition of art isthe friendship that’s formed between the person and the picture – both at the moment of seeing and later on as you remember. | |
| We wanted to make human art that was able to express feelings, so we put ourselves at the centre of our work. | We wanted to make human art that was able to express feelings, so we put ourselves at the centre of our work. |
| Getting a civil partnership was very important for us. If not, when one of us pops off, everything would fall apart. | Getting a civil partnership was very important for us. If not, when one of us pops off, everything would fall apart. |
| Islam is self-segregating. From our own experience, person to person, even moderate Muslims are apologists for Islam. We are infidels. | Islam is self-segregating. From our own experience, person to person, even moderate Muslims are apologists for Islam. We are infidels. |
| We always eat out but we’re not very big eaters. We have the same dish until we decide to change. It’s one less time-wasting decision to make in the day. We need an empty desert in front of us in order to create. Acres of empty land. | We always eat out but we’re not very big eaters. We have the same dish until we decide to change. It’s one less time-wasting decision to make in the day. We need an empty desert in front of us in order to create. Acres of empty land. |
| We said very early on that we never wanted to become the artists that Mother would be ashamed of. It hasn’t worked out exactly like that. | We said very early on that we never wanted to become the artists that Mother would be ashamed of. It hasn’t worked out exactly like that. |
| The secret of our relationship is that we woke up to the reality of the horror of the world every day. Somewhere at this very moment somebody is killing somebody in streets and in houses all over the bloody world. Quite amazing. | The secret of our relationship is that we woke up to the reality of the horror of the world every day. Somewhere at this very moment somebody is killing somebody in streets and in houses all over the bloody world. Quite amazing. |
| The excess of television about food is totally absurd. It’s like having ventriloquism on the radio. Totally daft. | The excess of television about food is totally absurd. It’s like having ventriloquism on the radio. Totally daft. |
| Scaffolders, tourists, binmen know who we are. You couldn’t have had that 40 years ago, that sensibility about art. It didn’t exist. | Scaffolders, tourists, binmen know who we are. You couldn’t have had that 40 years ago, that sensibility about art. It didn’t exist. |
| Being a politician has become a horrendously difficult job. No one leaves them alone. The prime minister’s asked to respond to things every single hour. | Being a politician has become a horrendously difficult job. No one leaves them alone. The prime minister’s asked to respond to things every single hour. |
| Cycling is a kind of mass hysteria. Cyclists are the only people who spit in public if they’re cross with a car. Their language is amazing. They say “fuck” all the time. | Cycling is a kind of mass hysteria. Cyclists are the only people who spit in public if they’re cross with a car. Their language is amazing. They say “fuck” all the time. |
| We accept death. In the early days [of HIV] two friends of ours died in front of us. We don’t believe we need an afterlife – that life is not good enough. But we do hope we will have one in that people will still be looking at our pictures. | We accept death. In the early days [of HIV] two friends of ours died in front of us. We don’t believe we need an afterlife – that life is not good enough. But we do hope we will have one in that people will still be looking at our pictures. |
| Scapegoating Pictures for London by Gilbert & George runs until 28 September at White Cube Bermondsey, London SE1. Admission free (whitecube.com) | Scapegoating Pictures for London by Gilbert & George runs until 28 September at White Cube Bermondsey, London SE1. Admission free (whitecube.com) |