We are all unique. To successfully live together, to function as a society, we attempt to find common ground. We try to agree on what is acceptable behaviour, and what is not. No matter how bizarre it may seem from an outside perspective, this shared belief system helps to define and unify a group of people.
In a similar way, an artistic imagination is a unification of an eclectic set of artistic values and beliefs. We are continuously exposed to new, diverse cultural and artistic influences. Our ability to incorporate the new into what we already know and love is what characterises us and gives our successive creations direction and coherence.