Blood Tears Spunk Piss
1996
68 hand-dyend gelatin silver prints in artist's frame
338 × 1207 cm (133 1/16 × 475 3/16 in.)
A couple of naked men, depicted twice, stand out against a decorative, organic background in four parts: Blood, Tears, Spunk and Piss. Here the English artist duo stage themselves in an aesthetic depiction of bodily fluids. The work explicitly refers to homosexuality and raises awareness of the risks associated with homosexual relations such as AIDS.
A real-life couple, Gilbert and George make their private life the subject of their art. Each theme they tackle directly affects them. Blood Tears Spunk Piss defies taboos and social diktats by magnifying the sometimes disgusting materiality of the male body. The artists seek to reach a wide audience with this universal subject. Their photomontage recalls a stained glass window, giving it a sacred dimension. Nevertheless, Gilbert and George have often evoked the church's negative attitude towards same-sex relationships.
The 1996 photograph Blood Tears Spunk Piss by Gilbert and George is in the Pinault Collection. It was exhibited for the first time during the 2008 “Passage du temps” (“Passage of Time”) show at the Tri Postal in Lille.
A real-life couple, Gilbert and George make their private life the subject of their art. Each theme they tackle directly affects them. Blood Tears Spunk Piss defies taboos and social diktats by magnifying the sometimes disgusting materiality of the male body. The artists seek to reach a wide audience with this universal subject. Their photomontage recalls a stained glass window, giving it a sacred dimension. Nevertheless, Gilbert and George have often evoked the church's negative attitude towards same-sex relationships.
The 1996 photograph Blood Tears Spunk Piss by Gilbert and George is in the Pinault Collection. It was exhibited for the first time during the 2008 “Passage du temps” (“Passage of Time”) show at the Tri Postal in Lille.
Exhibitions
© Gilbert and George
Courtesy the Artists and Lehmann Maupin Gallery, New York
© Gilbert and George
Photo: Matteo De Fina
© Palazzo Grassi Spa.
Exhibition view, Dancing with Myself, Punta della Dogana, Venice, April 8th – December 12th 2018.
