Gilbert & George are selling limited edition plates to help feed East London’s most vulnerable residents

Renowned artists Gilbert & George have a new show launching at London’s White Cube gallery titled New Normal Pictures. To coincide with the exhibition, the artist duo have teamed up with neighbouring East London social enterprise The Canvas Cafe, which raises funds to provide free meals for the homeless and families in need. The collaboration takes the form of 12 inch limited edition plates, screen printed in up to 17 different colours.

Beardlight & Beardtoast (2021) and Rosy & On The Bench are the editions available in support of the cause. Manufactured and hand finished in pottery heartland Stoke-on-Trent in Duchess China, an establishment running since 1888, each plate is numbered according to its double-edition on the back. There are 50 editions in each set and to purchase a set of plates, it will set you back £500. The plates also come with a piece of writing by Gilbert & George as well as a photograph by Nick Dolding.

The neighbourhood effort has come together with the help of advertising agency McCann London. Its executive creative director Ray Shaughnessy says in a statement: “As we see the growing impact on communities everywhere this past year, the last iteration of this project aims to help The Canvas Cafe scale up their operation and help more than ever before. It’s our honour to help our neighbours.”

New Normal Pictures, the artists’ latest exhibition is currently showing at White Cube Online until 1 May 2021. At present, it plans to open to the public on Tuesday 13 April subject to government guidelines. Two years in the making, the show features 26 pictures as part of a new series by the revered duo, who won the Turner Prize in 1986.

Known for their distinctive brightly coloured photo-based artworks, the pair often feature as the subjects of the art too, wearing highly formal attire. They met as students at Saint Martins in the summer of 1967 and have made art together since. Known for their anti-elitist approach to art, adopting the slogan ‘Art for All’, the pair have exhibited internationally and worked in a variety of media from sculpture to performance art.

Double, Double Helpings is the name for The Canvas Cafe’s project helping to feed East London’s most vulnerable people. Actress and puppeteer Ruth Rogers, its founder, went on to say in a statement: “Thanks to Double, Double Helping, and our incredible neighbours Gilbert and George, my social enterprise has been able to create now thousands of free meals for our local community, including families facing child poverty and elderly neighbours shielding from the virus. Distributed via partner organisations such as the Women’s Inclusive Team, One Housing and local schools, these carefully planned meals don’t just provide vital nutrition; they also offer kindness and love, as the need for all this grows ever more urgent.”