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“My MA degree show at the Slade meant a lot to me, primarily because the Boyle Family left a little letter stuffed under a TV that was part of the installation. At the end, as I was taking it all down in sombre mood, it meant the world to me to read their kind words and to think that somebody had ‘got’ it – a whole family in this case. “I’d discovered video at the Slade and was soon to achieve some fame for what was known as ‘Scratch’. For the degree show I chained together a shoal of crap TVs that I bought or borrowed; I think I had two VHS decks if I remember, it was that 32

advanced. There was loud music and lots of plants arranged around TVs. It had a bright, optimistic vibe; much of the footage was reworked nature programmes.  “Of course, by today’s standards it was extremely low tech but the music was good, it was in a dark basement, and I was rather proud of it. It was on the pulse, and used appropriation in an original, exciting way, without pretensions. But the letter from the Boyle Family made it a lovely day. I may well have written them a thank you note, but I can’t honestly recall now.” George Barber, MA Experimental Department, Slade School of Fine Art, 1984. Lives and works in London. www.georgebarber.net