Harland Miller

For the third episode of Give me a break, Harriet is joined by Yorkshire-born artist and writer Harland Miller. Best known for his darkly comic reimaginings of vintage Penguin book covers, he blends sardonic humour with sharp social commentary. His debut novel Slow Down Arthur, Stick to Thirty, a poignant story about a boy travelling around the North of England with a David Bowie impersonator, laid the foundations for a lifelong interest in storytelling. White Cube gallery, who has represented Harland for over 20 years, describe him as a "raconteur", which we can certainly vouch for after spending three hours with him in the Plaster podcast studio. Harland takes Harriet on path of winding, witty anecdotes from childhood and his early career, to sticking it out as a painter when painting was not de rigueur. "People would ask, 'what do you do?' And I would say, well, I'm a painter. And they would look at you with a mixture of curiosity and pity."