What do you remember about your work 'You Cant Touch This' entering the Saatchi collection and subsequently what did you make of it being donated as part of the Saatchi gift to the Arts Council Collection?

JF - Firstly, on my work entering the Saatchi Collection... It was a thrill! This was still in the early days of what came to be known as the 'YBA scene' - a term I hate - and actually by the time my work was shown (1995) it was already a dead beast - a bit like punk after 1977. But I had visited the Saatchi Gallery since it opened in about 1986 and had seen some of the most amazing shows I had ever seen there. So in my mind I was following the likes of Judd, Warhol, Serra, Koons, Halley... the list could go on - amazing! So suddenly I had a high profile and went on to show my work around the world.

Unfortunately, during the period of Saatchi's ownership of my work I had struggled to find commercial success, so when my work was given to the Arts Council, which seemed like an incredibly generous gesture, for me it also highlighted the un-saleable nature of what I did.

Is there anyway to determine the influence of Charles Saatchi's donation of your work to the Arts Council Collection? Did it allow you to build a subsequent relationship with the Arts Council Collection?

JF - Regarding my relationship to the Arts Council, I don't think I have one really! Maybe that's the way it should be, with the Arts Council Collection just collecting things on merit alone. There was a ten year gap between the Saatchi gift and the purchase of '16 screen tests', and whereas I'm always surprised when I sell work (I sell very little), I'm happy because I think it is a good piece. I don't see any direct link between the two works being in the Collection except that, at the risk of sounding immodest, they are both good works!

You mention the admission of your work from the Saatchi Collection to the Arts Council Collection as highlighting the unsalable nature of your work, to what extent has realising this impacted on your practice?

JF - I guess it reiterated things I already knew, there are lots of examples of artists who make or have made work that's difficult to sell, but somehow manage. Powerful dealers and curators can help... I used to think that ultimately the quality of the work would show through and everything would be alright, history would be the great leveller! I'm not so sure now, but I feel ok about just managing to get by and do what I think is important...

I actually made 'You can't touch this' and other similar pieces because I liked the fact that it was locked into a site, wasn't easily commodified, and had a precarious existence... sometimes it's hard to think about and know about what your work means...

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