Working in the arts is so much about taste and aesthetics and connections. We all need creative fuel and inspiration and I find it in unexpected and expected places. I really liked the idea of having a place to collect some of them to share with the world. And a place to shout about people and companies I think are fantastic. Hopefully this will create a rabbit warren for you to explore. And if you think, ‘Hey, if you like that, you’ll love this.’ let me know.

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    Paula Rego

    I love Paula Rego. She is hands down my favourite artist. I don’t pretend to know a lot about visual art, I just know that I love things which make me feel something, which hit me in the gut. I love her women, the blood and guts and beauty and strength of them. They are the way I want to show women in my work.

  • A cropped image of a film poster showing a man with clenched hands. The text reads: Together. A ilm by Lukas Moodysson in 70s colours

    Together. Lukas Moodyson

    Together (Tilsammen) is probably my favourite film. It is absolute joy. Messy, fucked up humans just trying to live their lives. It is just so generous, so human. Moodyson’s other films are all fantastic, too. We are the Best about some 13 year old girls who form a punk band is sublime and anarchic and wonderful. Lilya 4-Ever will rip your heart out.

  • Christine and the Queens album cover. Heloise Letissier sits on a beige block against a blue backdrop. She wears a black suit and holds a bunch of flowers.

    Christine and the Queens

    I can’t put all the music I love here, but I adore Chris. I love their Frenchness, their Queerness, their formation dancingness, their music, their aesthetic. Their live shows are theatrical spectacles which lift the audience off their feet. I often think about how I want my work to feel. And the answer is often like one of their concerts.

  • Desert Island Discs Logo - white text on pale blue background.

    Desert Island Discs

    I love Desert Island Discs. I’ve been listening to it since I was a child and it is my ultimate ambition to be worthy to be asked to go on it. You get a brilliant insight into the whole of someone’s life, and often discover new music. Strong recommend for Ian Wright’s and Angela Levy’s episodes.

  • Rebecca Solnit Hope in the Drak in white letters over a black circle surrounded by stripes in colours of the spectrum

    Hope in the Dark

    I come back to this book again and again. It is galvanising and, as you might expect, hopeful. I love Rebecca Solnit’s writing. I find this so inspirational. It is hope in rage and anger and resistance.

  • The poster for Hairspary. Rikki Lake and Divine in full 60s get up standing in front of a 'kapow' style red star burst

    Hairspray - John Waters

    This film came out when I was 7. I watched it when I was 8 (I know) and it became my absolute favourite. I don’t know how many times I watched it - I wore out the VHS. I adored it. I still do. It’s camp and Queer and subversive and funny and has fabulous formation dancing and a great soundtrack. What’s not to love?