“My quick adoption of a rather bohemian lifestyle, mostly constructed around long nights in the local pubs, didn’t exactly help. So in my third year I realized it was time for a reset: I departed on a long study tour through the Americas, from the US through Mexico and Bolivia down to Peru. But the result was the opposite of what I’d hoped: ten months later, once I’d made it back home, my skepticism towards art school had only grown. In Latin America I had been overwhelmed by the skill of local young artists, and by artwork that was rooted in a profound, ancient and vibrant visual culture. I felt I had neither the cultural nourishment, nor the requisite talent, to ever achieve that level of excellence.”