Quotes from Sebastian Horsley

I think you are born, and I think you die. I have a pragmatic nature, but I yearn to believe.

Dandyism is a lie which reveals the truth, and the truth is that we are what we pretend to be.

I used to have about a hundred suits in my late twenties and early thirties when my stock was riding high and I was rich.

I don't think I'm known for my gifts - I'm known for my gall. I don't want to be just a famous person - I'm too old.

You may look back on your life and accept it as good or evil. But it is far, far harder to admit that you have been completely unimportant; that in the great sum of things, all a man's endless grapplings are no more significant than the scuttlings of a cockroach.

The universe is neither friendly nor hostile. It is merely indifferent. This makes me ecstatic.

I consider myself to be very correct and proper: an upright citizen.

Pain can be vitalising; it gives intensity in the place of vagueness and emptiness. If we don't suffer, how do we know that we live?

The motivation of all artists is 'Look at me, Mum'.

If someone thinks I'm posh, it just shows how lowly they are. Some people think I went to Eton. I'm far too stupid to get into Eton.

We build our character as a carapace to keep away the fear of the abyss. That's what our character is for.