Pierre and Gilles

PIERRE ET GILLES (France, collaborating since 1976).
"Le petit Rimbaud", 2005.
Photograph.
Signed.
Unique work.
Measurements: 126 x 100 cm.

The French artist duo Pierre et Gilles, make provocative photographs in which they construct their own scenarios and costumes by hand, often retouching the prints with paint. Gay culture and pornography are the genres in which they explore with a liberated and sardonic spirit. On this occasion, in this oval-format photograph, the cursed poet Arthur Rimbaud is reborn, reincarnated as a young man whose angelic face with a celestial gaze contrasts with his vulgar exhibitionism. The clash between the elevated poetry and the scandalous behavior that Rimbaud had in life is reread in a camp key.

Pierre et Gilles are two French artists, a sentimental and artistic couple. They make unique and highly stylized photographs. Their work includes images from art history, popular culture, religion and gay culture including pornography (especially James Bidgood). The way these two artists work includes setting up complex scenographies, as they hardly work with digital post-production after the shots. Part of their way of working includes elaborate lighting and scenic works, portraying the models surrounded by floral mandorlas that often refer to religious works of the past or in idyllic and imaginary scenarios. Later, they work the photographs with acrylic paint to retouch the images and give them an original finish. Among his favorite themes are religious and mythological themes, as well as homoerotic scenes (some examples refer to the ocean and sailors, having developed a book on this subject called "Sailors and Sea"). Undoubtedly, his works can be included within the kitsch movement expressed in a conscious way, being also influenced by the world of pop culture. The celebrities photographed by Pierre et Gilles include: Amanda Lear (the cover of her 1980 album, Diamonds for Breakfast, one of his first commissions), Lio, Khaled, Étienne Daho, Marie France, Mikado, Marc Almond, Leslie Winer, Marilyn Manson, Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Erasure, Deee-Lite, The Creatures, Nina Hagen and Coco Rosie (the cover of her 2007 album, The Adventures of Ghosthorse and Stillborn); model Naomi Campbell, actresses Tilda Swinton and Catherine Deneuve, actors Jérémie Renier and Layke Anderson as well as designers Jean-Paul Gaultier and Paloma Picasso. His work is part of the collections of the Centre Pompidou in Paris.