Gilbert & George: Urethra Postcard Art

Britart double act Gilbert & George are famed for using unorthodox materials (bodily fluids) and controversial subject matter (mainly sex) in their work. So it is unsurprising that although their latest exhibition - a collection of artworks made from postcards sourced from British souvenir shops- looks harmless enough, the series is actually based on "an angulated sign of the urethra".

Each artwork is continuous rectangle of cards with another card in the middle. Although to the untrained eye it looks just like a rectangle of postcards with a card in the middle, it is actually an approximation of the organ which carries urine out of female bodies and semen out of men’s.

The couple apparently based the urethra series on the sexual symbol used by the theosophist C. W Leadbetter to accompany his signature. The collection is comprised of 564 pieces and is the single largest group of art works the pair have ever made.

Click here or on the image to see works from the exhibition

The Urethra Postcard Art of Gilbert & George is at the White Cube Mason’s Yard from tomorrow until 19 February 2011