Dear colleagues,

I’ve been asked to provide food for thought for you here today. I have the honourable task of encouraging you to be excessive.

At times like these I have to cling to writers like Georges Bataille and recognise that (I quote) our defining characteristic is abundance, a glut of energy, and our starting point is the sun, which is nothing but squander.

In my imagination, art demands an absence of boundaries.

In the face of this demand, I feel puny, because boundlessness has no master and its work is never complete.

It is utterly uncomfortable to desire the impossible, but the possible pales by comparison.

Creation through excess is an unhealthy obsession, no matter on what conditions, and yes, our passions exploit us and will ultimately devour us, but aren’t they a more appealing predator than the beasts that will prey on us otherwise?

So here are 36 points on creating our work through excess:

1.We must construct our work at the most distant front. Boundaries are to be violated.

2.We must expect losses because harmful elements cannot be banned. Anyone who licks the knife will cut their tongue.

3.Our vision must extend beyond a mere overview...