Is there anybody out there?

'Is there anybody out there?'

It was pitch black, save for the sweeping, blinding searchlight.

The thundering sound of helicopters rolled in all around me, rattling through my bones.

'Yes, I'm here!'

I was in an arena somewhere in New Jersey, and I was the only person in the massive auditorium. Incredibly, I was watching Roger Waters rehearsing for his mega-tour, The Wall.

In a blaze of light, a thirty-foot tall puppet of artist Gerald Scarfe's The Teacher appeared up on the stage. His glassy eyes were lit up with lights and I watched, gob-smacked, as his operators tested out the best ways to move his creepy, gangling limbs.

Thanks to the fact that my ex was working on the production, I was able to have this amazing experience. It really meant a lot to me, because some of my earliest 'art' memories are linked to Pink Floyd. My Dad and I used to put the albums on and I would sit on the floor, slightly freaked out by the music, drawing monsters.

I was looking for help to find the right magic for a new painting and then the answer came to me – I needed Pink Floyd magic.

Pearl

'Teacher' by Gerald Scarfe