Kit
2005
Photo piece, 20 panels
338 x 335 cm (133 1/16 x 131 7/8 in.)
Shown for the first time at the British Pavilion of the 2005 Venice Biennale, Gilbert & George's Kit is part of the Ginkgo series, a tree considered as sacred in China and a symbol of life and memory. The perfectly symmetrical leaf represents the art duo's longevity while the inscriptions in Arabic refer to oriental iconography. The threat of a “clash of civilizations” as theorized by Samuel P. Huntington hangs over the artwork in a context of tensions between different cultures around the world.
As in many other works by the British duo, the photomontage Kit refers to the art of stained glass, which organizes the composition's eclectic elements within a single narrative and symbolic grid. The resulting artwork is unexpected and magnifies impertinence into a monumental format.
Gilbert & George's Kit was first shown by the Pinault Collection in the exhibition The Passage of Time at the Tri Postal in Lille, in 2008.
As in many other works by the British duo, the photomontage Kit refers to the art of stained glass, which organizes the composition's eclectic elements within a single narrative and symbolic grid. The resulting artwork is unexpected and magnifies impertinence into a monumental format.
Gilbert & George's Kit was first shown by the Pinault Collection in the exhibition The Passage of Time at the Tri Postal in Lille, in 2008.
Exhibitions
© Gilbert and George
Courtesy Jay Jopling / White Cube, London
