Sam Taylor-Wood Quotes
-
At school, I always felt the art room was the place where you could sit and talk. It was a place of solace. I wasn't the best artist at school by a long shot; it was more the understanding and the support that came from that room.
-
I think that, to be an artist, you have to have a big enough ego to believe that people out in the world want to see what you think is a good idea. And if you don't have that sense of ego, then the minute that idea goes into the world, self-doubt kicks in.
-
One of the few times I saw my mother cry was when Lennon died, and the other time was when Elvis died.
-
I like Alexander McQueen's work a lot: he's always pushing boundaries, and he's rough around the edges.
-
When you're no longer ill, and everyone's gotten over the fact that you've had cancer, that core of steel doesn't go away, and then I had to find other channels for it.
-
Seriously, I wanted to be an artist because I saw that it meant endless possibilities. I came from a badly managed family background, so art was a way of reinventing myself.
-
Sometimes, I get afraid it has defined me, that sense of grief, loss and illness. But actually, it is about allowing myself to take hold and say: 'This is part of who I am, but not only who I am.'
-
I seize all opportunities with two hands. Everything that's happened to me has taught me to live in the moment as much as possible.
-
I had two primary cancers, which was pretty unusual. And when I got the second one, people told me such terrible bad-news stories, they instigated fears that weren't there in the first place. I do remember with such gratitude one doctor saying to me, 'Two primaries? That's nothing. I've seen a patient with six.'
-
I'm good at keeping secrets.
-
My mum has lived in Australia for 22 years now, and we have a rocky relationship. But at the same time it's one I want to maintain. I need her to be my mum. The relationship took a lot of rebuilding.
-
I almost never cry, and it's something I don't like about myself. I sometimes try and make myself cry. Sometimes, when I'm in pain, I say if I could just cry it would make it so much easier.
-
I hate rats. I had a pet rat to try and overcome it. I even gave him mouth-to mouth resuscitation when he had a heart attack. But I couldn't conquer it.
-
I'm the lightest sleeper. I can hear a pin drop. It's been worse since I was ill. I think your inner ear is always half open, listening out for the faintest danger sign.
-
I've turned into one of those people who go jogging in parks that I used to hate.
-
I've always lived my life fearlessly, and what I want to do with my life, I do.
-
Seeing a new play in a first-time production is so exciting - when it's good, you want to shout from the rooftops.
-
Relationships can go wrong very simply, very quickly, and when you have children you become more aware of relationships around you.
-
I never thought of having cancer as something that was unfair. I just braced myself and tried to get through it.
-
I understand what it is to go through emotional trauma and retreat and go into the world of your imagination. I understand how art and music can be a place of safety in a world of reinvention.
-
I went out of my way to try not to be an artist, because I thought I would end up leading a miserable, obscure life. I tried to escape it for as long as I could, until I had to admit at 25 that that was my path.
-
Money scares me, and it always has done. I've got a childish concept of money, and I like to keep it that way in the sense that I don't like to think about it.
-
I can be very self-destructive, but quietly.
-
I wanted to become an artist because it meant endless possibilities. Art was a way of reinventing myself.