They are known for their formal appearance and manner in performance art, and for their brightly coloured graphic-style photo-based artworks.

[7] Gilbert Prousch was born in San Martin de Tor in Alto Adige South Tyrol, northern Italy, his native language being Ladin.

[15] Whilst still students, Gilbert & George made The Singing Sculpture, which was performed at the National Jazz and Blues Festival in 1969 and at the Nigel Greenwood Gallery in 1970.

[16] For this performance they covered their heads and hands in multi-coloured metalised powders, stood on a table, and sang along and moved to a recording of Flanagan and Allen's song "Underneath the Arches", sometimes for a day at a time.

Some of their work has attracted media attention because of the inclusion of (potentially) shocking imagery, such as nudity, depictions of sexual acts, and bodily fluids (faeces, urine and semen).

At the end of the programme a picture entitled 'Planed' was made available as a free file download from the BBC and The Guardian websites for 48 hours.

People who downloaded the files could then print and assemble the piece, and thus own an original Gilbert and George picture for free.

According to Michael Bracewell "the Jack Freak Pictures are among the most iconic, philosophically astute and visually violent works that Gilbert & George have ever created."

The Union Jack and Gilbert & George are the two dominant pictorial images – appearing contorted, abstracted, and sometimes complete.

The entire series is set in the East End of London indicated by flags, maps, street signs, graffiti and other less obvious motifs such as brickwork and foliage that can be found there.

[25] During lockdown amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Gilbert & George started an online video diary, posting weekly updates on life in their newly limited circumstances.

[26] Notable honours include: Gilbert & George claim to be an oddity in the artistic world because of their openly conservative political views and their praise for Margaret Thatcher.

The two characters appear in pastiches of Gilbert & George's artwork, with the separate sections of the imagery acting as individual comic book panels.

The look that electronic music band Kraftwerk adopted between 1974 and 1978, with men in suits wearing ties, was partly inspired by Gilbert & George: musicians Florian Schneider and Ralf Hütter had seen an exhibition of the artists in Düsseldorf in 1970 and were inspired by the idea of "bringing art into everyday life".

[39] On 1 April 2023, the Gilbert & George Centre was inaugurated on Heneage Street (near Aldgate East station).