Gilbert & George at home in MONA

I had thought I knew something about Gilbert & George from having often seen their work in English galleries. I knew they had met as young artists in Central St Martins in the late 60's and had set up their home and studio in East London. I had also recognised that they lived a creative dichotomy between looking like very proper English gentlemen (even though Gilbert is Italian!) and making art that can be both bold and confronting. So it was fun to learn a lot more about them in their first Australian exhibition, from their gigantic photographic installations and some very honest movies in place throughout the exhibition. I also recognise, that from my knowledge of Australian art galleries, that MONA is best suited to their own philosophy of life and art. I was fascinated by the way art always was and is their life; they claim to reflect the basic ideas, struggles and desires of life in universal ways - where they extend attitudes and thoughts of their viewers. I found their videos helped me to recognise this. However I found much of the iconography of London both familiar and confronting. They seem to have been ahead of their time in producing work 20 years ago that is still extremely relevant today. I bought the catalogue, which has been autographed by both Gibert and George - and reflects their desire to be involved in the design of the exhibition and catalogue.