theartsdesk Q&A: Artist Douglas Gordon

The Glaswegian artist explains how the city made him

by Jasper ReesSaturday, 10 April 2010

Douglas Gordon: Self-portrait as Kurt Cobain, as Andy Warhol, as Myra Hindley, as Marilyn Monroe, 1996

Since winning the Turner Prize in 1996 with Confessions of a Justified Sinner, Douglas Gordon (b. 1966) has lived in Germany, France, New York and Germany again. But in accent and attitude, he remains a Glaswegian. Those roots are being reaffirmed at the moment: as part of this year's Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art, one of Gordon's most celebrated works is back on display in the city where it was first shown.

The painting department didn’t want me and sculpture didn’t want me. I ended up in this new department which didn’t have a philosophy, didn’t have a history, which was the best thing for me

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