Interesting to read about Ofili’s newest work – I haven’t seen any ‘in the flesh’ since I left London 8 years ago. But I agree that from what I’ve seen in reproduction, he hasn’t found a means to replace the aesthetic allure of the surface which he no longer seems to trust. These are problems that perhaps we all wish we were fortunate to wrestle with, of course.

And I’m afraid I have another personal anecdote to share. Back in the 1990s, I was using a printmaking studio in the Cubitt building in King’s Cross. Across the hallway was a room that was being used by Chris Ofili. The walls of the studios didn’t go all the way to the ceiling, so there was a gap of a few feet over which sound could travel. I remember stopping work one day to listen to a conversation between Ofili and a visitor, who was asking Ofili to sell him a painting. ‘But I can’t', I heard Ofili say. ‘I’ve already promised this one to Charles Saatchi.’ I then heard the visitor pleading with Ofili to sell him the painting. ‘Name your price!’

Like I said, problems of a good kind.