MOONLIGHTING FOR BERT INDUSTRIES
MOONLIGHTING FOR BERT INDUSTRIES
Bert is London's Mistress of bucking trends & blushing cheeks, 'God Spank the Queen' promises surreal hilarity & beautiful women."
(Le Cool)
Imagine my delight when asked to don a skintight pair of leopard print trousers, sky scrapper high, patent stilettoes & prance around spanking complete strangers. (Including Sir Peter Blake!) Yep, that's right, all in the name of Art & with the Queen's blessing!
'The Spankatron', back by popular demand, is almost an annual event now at The Art Car Boot Fair. In 2012 I joined Bert, the Spankettes & a very patriotic Gorilla at the illuminated 'Spanking Post' for an afternoon of fun, frolics & funny faces. Visitors to the stand were given a chance to repent their sins & celebrate their tooshes!
The talent British artist Bert Gilbert, also known as the industrial, peroxide powerhouse, was originally commissioned by Coco De Mer to make the hand shaped spanking devices, affectionately known as The Bottom Blusher & The Little Slapper.
Bert is the daughter of a dentist father & of a criminologist mother. Her father's catch phrase "its only pain" & her mother's bedtime stories have a lot to answer for.
Her work is multidisciplinary & intensely cathartic both in content & in production. She cross-pollinates traditional crafts, such as stitching, stuffing or casting, with a macabre sense of humour & thought provoking imagery.
Bert's inspirations are anatomical & botanical. The results are a collection of beautiful but disturbing installations, objects & curiosities, which explore then, transform traumatic or painful experiences.
Bert's work has been described by Dazed & Confused as "A surreal mix of the mirth of Monty Python, with the Macabre of Marylin Manson.
