British Council British Council Visual Arts

I had seen, reproduced in a magazine, a page of a pornographic novel which had all the offending words blacked out by the censors, so that very little text remained in tact, just a series of disconnected linking phrases, such as :'…and then he thrust his …into her quivering … until she cried out … quickly … me …Jesus … don't stop!'. The results were intriguing and highly suggestive, probably more erotic than the original, confirming my belief that it is censorship itself which appeals to the prurient interest.

I decided to take the process one step further and leave everything to the imagination, so I nominated a random date by sticking a pin in the calendar, on which day I would completely censor, by blacking out every word and picture on the front and back pages of that day's newspaper. By a nice irony, which so often accompanies chance decisions, the day's news was of the court's verdict on the sensational … motor 'accident … at the …bridge, which resulted in one of the biggest news cover-ups in recent years: the full facts have never been revealed'.

Cratylus The English Artist and The Word, The Council, London 1979

The newspaper report related to a tragic car accident on the island of Chappaquiddick, east of Martha's Vineyard in which Mary Jo Kopechne was drowned whilst the driver, Senator Edward Kennedy, managed to escape.