I realized that the only possible response was to go to my wonderful local café, Maison Bertaux, check everyone was well, eat a little cake and then make art. To me, making art, and in particular public art, is always an assertion of our humanity and our strength.

Revolutions have always started in cafés.

If the great Western experiment fails and we end up living in totalitarian war-on-terrorism states, one day someone's going to say, 'Well democracy doesn't work because they had to give it up'.

I want to live in a city where immigration is seen as a new source of strength.

Calamitous collapse is better than mediocre defeat!

Ageing is a privilege not a predicament.

I believe we have to put art back at the center of everyday life rather than allowing it to become a specialist activity at the margins of society.