I don’t have much time for sentimentalism but when push comes to shove, I deeply love my mother – Taylor Swift emotionally resonates with me and I am honored and delighted to be the first recipient of the SPACE/Bloomberg New Contemporaries Studio Bursary Award.
I have been in the studio for a month now but I have already successfully installed a 24-hour crèche service, which, in turn, has produced an excellent workflow of artist assistants and interns. I leave the content to the under fives and the general aesthetic output is decided by myself, Tommy, Rupert and Alice. This process has allowed me to increase my output by a startling 700% in the first few weeks alone. It has meant that I can lessen my involvement with the actual work and focus on the PR side of things. I am still in the studio most days, working at the desk space, occasionally shouting the words ‘affect!’, ‘abject!’ and ‘accelerationism!’ (We can’t seem to get past the ‘A’s) to a group of diligent yet nonplused under 11s.
Without the bursary this operation would be totally impossible and so I would like to thank: SPACE, Enrico David, Goshka Macuga, Marvin Gaye Chetwynd, Kirsty Ogg, Sandra Mahon, Becky Botros and Sacha Craddock. It is both very flattering and very useful to be supported like this.
Anyone is welcome to come by for a studio visit or to drop off the kids for a few hours. I will be organising reading groups (starting with ‘Esio Trot’) in the forthcoming weeks.