If you could live with just one work of art, what would it be?
If it was in a big garden with trees, then I Lay Here For You (2018) by Tracey Emin—the female form in bronze, enrapturing herself, blissfully unaware of prying eyes. Just herself, her needs laid bare. The bronze is warm and dappled by sunlight and the foreleg is a perch for sitting and thinking.
Which cultural experience changed the way you see the world?
I visited the Roden Crater by James Turrell. We were with him and my youngest children, then five and six. As we walked through the antechamber from light to dark and back again, over and over, the experience became like an anointing or baptism. Nothing had prepared me for the scale or detail, the quality of the materials that created the darkness so black or the polished golden steps leading to the sky.
Which writer or poet do you return to the most?
Margaret Atwood. I love all her books. The knowledge that there is an unread work, Scribbler Moon—currently carefully stored by Future Library, the artwork by Katie Paterson, waiting for the forest to grow to print the book—is beyond tantalising. In the meantime, every other book can be returned to happily.
What music or other audio do you listen to as you work?
We have a festival called Jupiter Rising that supports artists from diverse backgrounds. My wonderful team introduce me to great music such as Shabaka Hutchings from The Comet is Coming; Taahliah; Cate Le Bon; and the incredible Sarra Wild. To take me back to my art college days, I spend time listening to Kate Bush, waving my arms in the air singing Wuthering Heights.
What are you watching, listening to or following?
Succession and Schitt’s Creek (again) for pure escapism. The Great Women Artists by Katy Hessel and the Talk Art podcast with Russell Tovey and Rob Diament are my morning entertainment. The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart; I like an intimate take on things, and I love the humanitarian aspects of their worldview.
What is art for?
For me, art is to create a moment when you understand something that you had not understood before. The Jupiter Foundation, which specialises in learning for young people, is committed to introducing challenging art to the young people of Scotland so that they can be empowered to advocate for their views on life.
• Lindsey Mendick, SH*T FACED opens at Jupiter Artland, near Edinburgh, on 15 July