Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
They shouted: Sodom & Gomorrah.. George asked was it a club and when did it open
Artists return despite planned protests at art show
ARTISTS Gilbert & George have hit back at a planned protest over their new exhibition in Belfast.
The iconic duo are back for their first exhibition in Belfast since they appeared at the Ormeau Baths in 1999.
Back then they were met with a hymnsinging picket line. This time they’ve been warned to expect more of the same.
Speaking of 1999, Gilbert told Belfast Live: “They were shouting ‘Sodom and Gomorrah’. And George said: ‘Where is this club? When does it open?’”
Last time around, Free Presbyterian Minister David Mcilveen voiced his disapprovement. And this year he’s at it again.
He’ll be involved in a protest, describing their work as “deliberately provocative” and an attack on “Biblical faith”.
But the pair said it will simply draw more people to their art.
Gilbert added: “I think he likes to be on the radio more than anything else.”
George said: “We think that crusty exterior where he’s anti-things and cross with us and our views on life is probably a facade.
“Probably behind that there’s a nice smiley Christian gentleman.” Gilbert said: “In the end, it’s publicity. There are people who don’t know what it is in here and they’ll come in and have a look.”
Scapegoating Pictures is a collection of the pair’s work that’s known for provoking thought, debate and controversy. It opens tomorrow at the MAC.
George said: “The people of Belfast have never seen these pictures before. We showed them first in London and in Paris. They were shown in a beautiful Lutheran church in Berlin.
“That was an enormous success. It was an active church – imagine the wedding photographs!”
Gilbert added: “People go to museums to search for themselves, to find themselves. Maybe they don’t succeed sometimes but we always like to do art with a message. Because we believe very much that human beings are the centre of the world, not Gods. Human beings.”
The pair take a hands-on approach to their exhibitions - going so far as using a model-sized version of the MAC to plan the exhibition that will run for the next few months.
George explained: “Most museums design shows to suit their tastes. They do what what they like, and we think that’s not right. They can do that with their house. We do it with the viewer in mind. So we do it for the public.”
Gilbert added: “In some ways art is a freedom of speech and when you go into a gallery you want to see what the other person thinks. To agree or disagree, that’s what it’s all about.”