I contacted the Institute of Contemporary Arts with an idea of having a mentally ill man off his medication running round the gallery. I imagine myself having a little room where I come off my medication and everyone comes and looks at me while I go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

Quite interesting isn't it? I mean there's very few people get to see a true madman, do they? Me off my medication, I'm pretty potty.

What did the I.C.A. think about that?

They haven't replied yet. I've sent my portfolio about displaying my chicken collection in the town centre, my underpant collection in the town centre; put a pair of underpants over the security cameras, told the chief of police it was a work of art; painting a violin, organising a Ministry of Funny Walks contest, all the stuff I got in the Cambridge Evening News last year for doing.

It would be lovely to experience true madness, because I'm not violent when I'm mad, I'm just a bit loud. I shout a lot, I rant a lot. It would be a very valuable experience to the public to be able to see that, perhaps record it.

You probably know that in the reasonably distant past they used to support Bedlam by having the public pay to come and gawp at the...

At the loonies. They also had a penny a poke as well, didn't they? Where you poke the loony.

An amusing Sunday afternoon pastime.

I think MIND would get a bit upset about that, wouldn't they?

I don't think it would go down at all well today.

I wouldn't like to be poked, but it would be interesting to be viewed in an art gallery wouldn't it? It would be controversial.

Our society has constructed systems for keeping disturbing things out of sight, mad people, old people, sick people, animal butchering, learning difficulties. Though these days you see people with learning difficulties on the street, which is very good, it's great, I think it's important, there's diversity. Under Thatcher, I know they had 'Care in the Community' but anyone that was a bit different was locked away if they didn't have any money.