I visited Gavin Turk in his Canning Town studio and asked him about what he’s up to these days. ‘There’s a lot of shouting going on in the art world,’ he said, ‘and sometimes it’s hard to be heard if you make quiet art.’
‘Which you do?’
‘At the moment. Coming out of lockdown there’s a cultural vacuum. For artists to re-populate that space they need a renewal of consciousness of their effect on the planet. It’s wonderful have Deborah (Deborah Curtis his partner) on the other side of the studio working on The Great Imagining project, planning a future for children’s education.’
‘What are you working on?’
‘Several things, here’s one of them.’
‘The brown flowers?’
‘Yes, it’s called, work in progress. I found these out in the street, I thought it was funny, with that Mercury messenger logo, and perfectly complemented my other dried, brown flowers.’
‘Like the one’s in the beautiful bright vases?’
‘That’s right. These flowers have a different kind of life . They are changing, not static.’
‘Creation, maintenance, destruction – these things must happen – yes?’
‘Yes.’
‘Are you planning to exhibit soon?’
‘I am, in my studio.’
Watch this space. May I come and review it?’
‘Certainly.’
Words and Photo: Jan Woolf