Wakefield-born and Glasgow-raised, Creed is known as the self-effacing, playfully provocative artist and 2001 Turner Prize-Winner (for the infamous Work no. 227: the lights going on and off). His pre-eminence in contemporary British art was confirmed by the Hayward Gallery’s expansive 2014 Creed retrospective/takeover show, What’s the point of it? But that’s only part of the man’s protean CV. Indeed, he has maintained a complementary commitment to composing, songwriting and performing since the early ’90s, fronting bands of his own devising, releasing an impressive catalogue of singles, EPs and albums and consistently garnering plaudits from gnarled music critics and stellar musicians alike (members of Franz Ferdinand most vocally).
Creed’s visual art has often embraced sonic elements, such as the 1998 installation Work No. 189: thirty-nine metronomes beating time, one at every speed and 2009’s Work No. 1020 — a ballet, no less. Music, he believes, is a medium that offers something that art alone does not. As a glance at the biographies of John Lennon, Syd Barrett, Pete Townshend, Brian Eno, David Byrne et al will confirm, groundbreaking pop musicians have for decades cut their creative teeth in the world of visual art.
“I got into the music because the visual work wasn’t enough… you hear things as well as see them… I like that you can make music in your head and carry it around with you. You’re freer. You’re not tied down by the burden of physical objects.”
Support from Dub Vampire
Exhibition by Moderate Realism and Sally Gilford
