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

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

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

A Scorpio, it's just about peeling back the layers. And I'm always surprised at myself-there's a lot under there.

I always made stuff but never thought, I'm going to be an artist.

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.