EXISTERS
1984
- Artist Rooms
Many of Gilbert & George?s pictures in the 1980s include a cast of young men. Having installed special lighting equipment in their studio, they were able to capture images of the youths with a greater degree of control. ?We devoted all our power to making them totally beautiful?, they have said. In pictures such as `Existers?, the youths are arranged into powerful compositions, living embodiments of potency and strength. Such depictions of young men aroused considerable hostility among critics, who accused Gilbert & George of being exploitative, and wrongly described the youths as rent boys or East End thugs.