Martin Creed | Fuck Off

Martin Creed
Fuck Off
London, UK: Self-published, 1999
Floppy diskette
Edition of 100 (+10 AP) signed and numbered copies

As far back as 1986, when he was still a student at Slade, Martin Creed has been assigning each of his works a number. The most recent entry on his website, from last year, is number 1674 (a watercolour drawing that would become the cover of his most recent LP). Work No. 211, sometimes titled Fuck Off, is an early edition made in collaboration with David Cunningham, the audio artist best still best known for his 1976 band Flying Lizards, who charted with a stripped down cover of rock staple Money. Cunningham had produced the early recordings by Creed, both solo and with his band Owada, whose debut album Nothing he released on his label Stalk.

Work No. 211 is a computer alert, with Creed’s thick accented voice saying “Fuck off.” Released in a self-published edition of 100, the works are signed by by both Creed and Cunningham.

Creed has revisited the phrase in Work No. 233 (a piece of paper with Fuck Off printed in the top left corner), from 2000 and in Work No.240, a neon piece from the same year. A song with the same title appears his 2012 album Love To You, and can be heard, here.