After a year of speculating where and when, White Cube has finally opened in Hong Kong, at 50 Connaught Rd in Central. A critical mass of guests descended upon the …errr, very spacious white cube, to celebrate the opening of the gallery and its inaugural exhibition of London “living sculpture” duo, Gilbert and George with the somewhat Dickensian London Pictures.

Twenty-two monumentally sized prints composed of newspaper headline posters stolen by the artists over a number of years line the walls of White Cube’s two floors. An “epic survey of modern urban life in all its volatility, tragedy, absurdity and routine violence,” the works were catalogued according to sensationalised keywords that repeatedly popped up in the headlines: ‘kill’, ‘murder’, ‘attack’, ‘kidnap’ and ‘race’, and all feature the coined profile of the Queen and of course the two artists.

The works highlight a darker dimension of London life and in light of last year’s London riots the exhibition seems eerily timely.

Exhibition until 5th May, 2012