SHRIGLEY

Artist, sculptor, animator, photographer...

the ever-expanding list of David Shrigley’s talents has seen him produce a highly memorable promo video for Blur’s Good Song and attract widespread attention for his work.

The Glasgow based creative with an instantly recognisable cartoon style has a wicked take on life that embraces the bizarre.

magazine did the Q’s while he did the A’s - we also got him to do a self portrait!

What are you working on right now?
I'm working on a script for a radio play. I want to do some work with actors and dialogue and I figure this is a good place to start. I'm also starting another black and white animation. And some new drawings (which I do all the time). And I've started yoga.

How important is humour in your work?
It's not essential, but it helps. If you can make people laugh then you know you have communicated something.

Do you have a favourite medium?
Drawing.

How do your animations unfold?
Slowly. My most recent animation took a year to make. I've been working on animations for about 3 years now. I feel I have a lot to learn.

What happens if you forget to take your sketchbook with you when you leave the house?
I go back and get it or I buy another one. If I don't then bad things will happen.

Are you the kind of person that also takes a camera everywhere?
I am now. I got a tiny digital camera for Christmas last year and I take it everywhere. That's why digital cameras are great, because you can fit them in your pocket and take an infinite number of pictures.

A picture makes a thousand words; concisely comment!?
Yeah, whatever.

How important to you are computers?
They are important. I would not be answering these questions were it not for my computer.

Is your work dark, and if so – why?
Yes, I suppose it is. But it is light as well. People seem to comment more about the darkness. I think people like to see the dark side of things. Perhaps it makes my work seem more serious.

What fascinates you most out of all the subjects you cover in your work?
Abstract thought. I was thinking today about bulk shopping; the desire to do a whole month's shopping in one go to save time and money. I was wondering if it were possible to do a bulk shop that would provide all you needed for the rest of your life, whether I would do it or not. I would never have to go to Asda ever again.

What do you want to do that you haven’t done yet?
I want to make a live action film. I'm starting with a radio play, as I said, and if I can figure that out then I'll pick up the video camera.

What is The Book of Shrigley?
It's a big book of my drawings and it is one hell of a good book.

www.davidshrigley.com

The Book Of Shrigley contains over 150 new drawings, sketchbook entries from student days, sad and funny ephemera, and texts that illuminate his work with a sideways light. £20.00 ISBN 1 870003 24 1