Thom Yorke Speaks On His Struggle To Be Creative Post-Pandemic “I Really Valued That Time”

Photo credit: Raymond Flotat

Thom Yorke has recently spoken out on his struggle to be creative post-pandemic. Yorke, frontman of well known rock bands Radiohead and The Smile, spoke on his creative struggle in a recent interview. The discussion came in celebration of the new exhibition ‘This Is What You Get’, which is open now at The Ashmolean Museum in Oxford and showcases the artwork of Radiohead done by Yorke and the band’s longtime artist Stanley Donwood.

The musician went into detail on his creative experiences during the pandemic and explained how switching back to “normal” after quarantine was a struggle:

“Suddenly we could spend a week together just working on these things without the studio being involved, without me having any other distractions,” he said. “That was eye-opening and deeply therapeutic. When the pandemic finished, a lot of creative people were paralysed by the flashing lights starting again. I’m still struggling with that now. Everybody talks about the flourish of anxiety, but I think there’s more to it than that. I really valued that time, and it’s hard to come back to whatever that was.”

Yorke spoke more about his experiences calling himself a visual artist in the 80s, his struggle with coming to terms with this identity and going back into the field after a long time apart. In the new museum collection, the three-decade-long collaboration between the band and Donwood is documented through various detailed personal archives, providing insight into both their creative processes, according to NME.  There are over 180 objects on display. This includes things like the original paintings (later becoming album covers), unpublished drawings, lyrics in sketchbooks, digital compositions, etchings and more.

Those interested in experiencing this exhibition, which will last until January, can go here for more information.