I came to painting through sculpture, to images through objects. I think that images sit in the middle, somewhere between objects and words.

My idea for every exhibition is we should be able to see every individual work without being distracted by the others, and it doesn't matter if it's quite crowded.

I decided I should use the most obvious colours - the basic colours with simple names: red, purple, yellow, pink. I don't distort the objects, I don't change the objects, I draw them exactly as they are. I do the opposite with the colours.

When I told people that I was going to paint the big room magenta, many people thought that I was crazy.

I think the best approach is not to be too much like the thing that they are referring to, see it as a guide.

When I was a very young student I loved and admired the work of Sam Beckett, who is famously pessimistic, and whose writing is an extraordinary examination of emptiness. I wanted to be like Beckett. I don't have the same attitude toward the world, I'm naturally optimistic, and so of course I could never be like Beckett. You can't force yourself to become like someone you admire.

'Understanding' art is like having a sense of humour - if you don't have one, no amount of explanation is going to make you laugh.