Back then, Gilbert was Gilbert Proesch and hailed from a small village in the Dolomites, George was George Passmore from Plymouth. In the iconoclastic spirit of the times, they rejected sculpture and surnames, and decided to turn themselves into a living work of art. They have remained one ever since, their oddness congealing into a kind of signature, as instantly identifiable as the pictures they make. Initially, though, they called themselves ‘The Singing Sculpture’, and specialised in a deadpan version of ‘Underneath the Arches’, which they delivered standing still, side by side in their suits, their hands and faces painted bronze. A friend who saw them back then says they were ‘odd but ubiquitous’, and they have remained so ever since.
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