Radiohead’s music and art are inseparable, and a constant source of inspiration for me. I couldn’t miss this exhibition at The Ashmolean in Oxford.
Across several rooms, This Is What You Get explores the collaborative relationship between Thom Yorke and Stanley Donwood and the visual material they’ve created for Radiohead, Yorke’s solo albums and The Smile. It’s not everyone’s idea of “good art”[1] and this show doesn’t attempt to frame it as such — instead, it offers a window into an experimental process often wrestling with creative block, uncertainty and the search for meaning. We see how setting constraints, relinquishing control and responding to external pressure can sharpen focus. Many of the most compelling images emerge from their willingness to embrace being amateurs — consistently trying new things and flailing around in the hope that something interesting will emerge.
It’s all refreshingly down-to-earth. We learn that good things often happened by chance, Yorke and Donwood always downplaying their abilities and keen to emphasise that “we had no idea what we were doing”. A reassurance for me, considering my own working methods, is how the pair combine seemingly unrelated sources to find a direction, or discover something in a single poem, painting, place or process that will act as a wayfinder.
When multiple elements align perfectly, an album can impact some of us so profoundly that we’ll live our lives enriched by the belief that everything about it — the music, yes, but also the material that contextualises and expands it — holds the highest creative value. And music moves with us in such a way that if you’re sensitive to it as a measure of your life, it can forever intertwine with memories in ways painting or sculpture rarely does. In Radiohead’s case, each body of work becomes an instantly recognisable cultural touchpoint, capturing the moods, anxieties and technologies of its time while resonating with millions of people. In my world, this qualifies as very good art.
I spent today reading the essays and interviews in the accompanying catalogue, and it’s worth buying if you love this stuff. As is often the case, the book covers more ground than the show and allows for a deeper dive at a slower pace.
It was a lovely day trip to Oxford. We had coffee at New Ground, strolled along Broad Street and browsed the Tardis-like Blackwell’s bookshop. As it was Geri’s first time in the city, we ambled around The Bodleian Library, Radcliffe Camera and a few old lanes. We also met up with Jon and Leigh Hicks (and their daughter, ’Mantha) at The Ashmolean as they also love Radiohead and live nearby. It’s always fun to hang out with them and we had a good catchup over drinks and tapas at Al Andalus before the long drive home.
Jon’s photo of us at the exhibition.
With reference to this review and the critic’s fixation on whether the artwork, when separated from the music, qualifies as “good art”. ↩︎
