‘Our beginning was a worm,” says John Outram. “It had light-sensitive cells at one end that later turned into eyes.” He is standing in the bathroom at the top of his house in London’s Connaught Square, explaining the symbolism of the patterns that line the walls of his shower.
Three white worms wiggle their way across a background of blue mosaic tiles at the base of the cubicle, while a black I-shape floats against a band of red tiles above, denoting “the emergence of the ego”. A third yellow band at the top marks the realm of light, where the figure of “thought” appears between two triangles, signifying the parted halves of the “heap of history”. It’s a lot to digest before breakfast – and we haven’t even got on to the symbolic ceiling (the “raft of reason”) or the hexagonal serpent-skin floor tiles.
“I stand here every morning to do my exercises,” says Outram, breaking into an infectious giggle. “A good dose of metaphysics sets one up for the day.”
