Phase V

I have to say, I appreciate Gilbert & George a whole lot more having waited few days after seeing the show. Mainly because I truly haven't stopped thinking about it since and I've enjoyed hearing what other people have said about their experiences. There is another amazing thing that I found out since I visited the De Young. Do you remember a while ago when they banned hoodie wearing in London? They actually made this illegal. You would get arrested if you were wearing a hoodie. Can you imagine? Gilbert & George responded to it:

"They've done nudity, bondage, bad language and turds: now Gilbert and George tackle the latest taboo - hoodies, identified recently by the government as a symbol of the so-called yob culture.

Presumably, Bluewater, the shopping centre which sparked a national debate by banning hoodies - and claims that sales rocketed as a result - wouldn't give wall space to the latest work of art from the men approaching their 40th anniversary as living works of art.

Gilbert and George met in 1967 at St Martin's School of Art, where both were studying sculpture, and they have lived, worked and exhibited together since.

They began as performance artists, showing themselves as living sculptures, but in the past 20 years have produced a series of monumental photography-based pieces.

In Hooded, the pair are flanked by capped and hooded figures of young black men, who could be seen as threatening, bemused or wryly amused.

Andrea Rose, director of visual art at the British Council, said: "Gilbert and George have made grand portraits from the hooded boys who live and work around Spitalfields, where the artists themselves have lived and worked together for more than 35 years.

"While others discuss banning youths from wearing hoodies, Gilbert and George find something positive to say about them."

The piece, unveiled yesterday by the British Council, is one of 25 new works made by the artists for the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, which opens next month."

Think about how amazing that is.