I was listening to a lot of hip hop, music like Public Enemy that was about raising consciousness, and I realised I could feed that directly into my …

- Chris Ofili

I'm aware that success can overwhelm you. The perception of you can be elevated to such a status that it's not you any more.

- Chris Ofili

There's a magic that comes from playing entirely to who you are. I've got my specialist subject - in the Mastermind sense - and I wouldn't change it,…

- Chris Ofili

There was a point in time where the thought of people even talking about me made me anxious. Physically.

- Chris Ofili

In the end, it doesn't really matter what you paint. It's all just a routine to connect yourself finally with other people.

- Chris Ofili

When I was painting in art school - and I think many painters in the 1980s worked similarly - a finished painting would often be constructed from lot…

- Chris Ofili

Sometimes, as I feel a door or an exit point in my work is closing, I'll try to create an opening so as not to stifle the creative process, which I s…

- Chris Ofili

Often I think changes within my work have been seen as sudden changes or sharp changes, but for me they're not that sudden. They have been there in t…

- Chris Ofili

When I left the Royal College, I decided I would only make paintings that I would want to look at myself, that felt close to my life.

- Chris Ofili