Sunday with Gavin Turk: ‘I’m trying really hard not to shop’
What’s your Sunday morning routine? I’m not a creature of habit. Monday to Friday I try to be up at 7am; on the weekend I might be up early and I might not.
Breakfast? I make what is referred to as vegan brunch: bread from the E5 Bakehouse in London Fields, fried tomatoes from the garden, mushrooms, homemade baked beans.
Do you work? I’ll head to the studio if there’s a show or a panic on. I have a team midweek, but on Sundays I have the space to myself. There’s a recycler’s next door, and their diggers spend a lot of time smashing metal outside the window. Not on Sunday, though. It’s a joy, and where I’m happiest.
The perfect day out? We went to Gloucestershire last weekend to see Giffords Circus. That was wonderful. I found it quite emotional: the circus pulls you in. In the grand finale you feel you’ve crossed a bridge.
How do you relax? With a book. At the moment they’re Jake Chapman’s 1984.1 and The Peregrine by JA Baker. I’m also reading Novacene by James Lovelock. He argues that humanity will sacrifice itself and dissolve into data. I’m not convinced.
Are drinks involved? I’m a bit of a binger, really, but I can’t handle it any more. Maybe I’m too old or it’s because I’m a vegan, but I have to be careful else I end up overdoing it, which isn’t nice for anyone.
A favourite shop? I’m trying really hard not to shop, refraining from consuming things unnecessarily. I try to fix my own clothes, although I’m slow; I love a pair of darned socks, or repairing an old jumper with a hole in it.
And Sunday nights? I might try reading in the bath, but that’s fraught with danger. And then I set an alarm for 7am on Monday, which I may or may not get up for.
Gavin Turk’s exhibition, Letting Go, is on at Reflex Gallery, Amsterdam until 6 December (reflexamsterdam.com)
