Interview From The Welcome Archive

Back in 2009, I was one of the “plinthers” who appeared in Trafalgar Square as part of Anthony Gormley’s wonderful One&Other installation, where 2000 people, randomly selected from the thousands of applications, occupied the fourth plinth in 1 hour slots for 3 months, around the clock. I am a huge fan of Anthony Gormley, so was utterly thrilled when my name came out of the hat, even though I am something of a recluse. 

Each Plinther was interviewed prior to their hour as part of the project’s aim to create a kind of snap-shot of the people living in the UK at the time, and these interviews were to be held for ever more in the Wellcome Foundation’s archives. Today, in a rare moment of administrative tidying, I happened across a document with a link to my interview. In it, I talked about writing, family, being raised in a mixed-race marriage in the 1960s, and what it was like to see racism from a childs-eye view.

The interview took place during a very difficult period of my life, shortly after my father died. It made me think of him, and reminded me of all the things that mould us as people.

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