For me, the '80s were like the drawing by Botticelli of the nine rings of hell.

My art practice is very detail-, labor- intensive and I think that that's a way of slowing myself down so that I can hear myself think. That quieter voice has sometimes the more interesting idea, if I can get to it.

Often culture gets stuck in static, traditional narratives. Contemporary ideas give culture elasticity, flexibility, which is always a breath of fresh air. But these ideas shouldn't only be for people who can afford to go to a museum or a symposium in the "better part of town."

The most important imperative to be questioned is the one that tells you to go the the art supply store to be a painter.

That's how I am and how I've always looked at the world. I understood what the pavilions were before I came to Venice, and I knew that wasn't going to be enough for me. I wanted to extend this conversation into something I call urgency. There is urgency with people in crisis. Some communities - often the black community - just live in this urgency.

I never have a problem with being black. I have a problem with the easy association of what that means to some people.

For me, the '80s were like the drawing by Botticelli of the nine rings of hell.