David Shrigley

Best known for his iconic slapstick representations of everyday life, David Shrigley personifies snippets of overheard conversations and offers satirical commentary on human interaction.

Shrigley was born in Macclesfield, Cheshire, before moving to Oadby, Leicestershire where he first embraced creative expression. He took the Art and Design Foundation course at Leicestershire Polytechnic and then completed a degree on Environmental Art at Glasgow School of Art from in 1991. Going on to gain his first public recognition in 1995 with a solo show in Glasgow. In 2013, he had a retrospective at the Hayward Gallery and was nominated for the prestigious Turner Prize in the same year.

Shrigley’s compositions focus on a central figure or image, ranging from an electric depiction of an owl or a fox, to a static human with an inscription, underlined with an appreciation for the absurd and a continued interest in the comedic. Notable solo exhibitions include his 2020 ‘Do Not Touch the Worms’, at Copenhagen Contemporary, Denmark, where Shrigley filled the space with 20 larger than life inflatable replicas of the pink wriggly creatures. Through a constant state of deflation and reanimation the life of the nylon monsters was governed by an LED clock. As ever, a true example of how Shrigley is never one to take himself too seriously. 

An extension of his artistic output has emerged from Shrigley in a series of published books. He also directed the videos for Blur’s “Good song” and Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s” Agnes, Queen of Sorrow. He designed a London Underground leaflet cover and has contributed to The Guardians Weekend magazine every Saturday since 2005, with an entertaining lineup of curious creatures and text.