Weak Messages Create Bad Situations

Reviews / Votes

Shrigley's manifesto is full of hilarity, alongside observations about the world that are both astute and absurd * * Creative Review * * Single minded, sharp and funny * * Design Week * * David Shrigley is probably the funniest gallery-type artist who ever lives -- DAVE EGGERS Funny and profound and surprising all at the same time -- HARRY HILL With a casual gesture Shrigley points to that hideous shape whose name I've never known - and then he names it. And the name is profoundly, embarrassingly familiar. I'm laughing while frantically searching for a pen, so desperate to capture the feeling he has unearthed in me -- MIRANDA JULY On the kink of his line Shrigley can shift effortlessly from pathos to paranoia. And his work is funny - very funny; his timing devastatingly effective -- WILL SELF Shrigley mines a mordant, scatological seam, conjuring up the dark tradition of British humour that threw up Tony Hancock and Chris Morris * * The Times * * Shrigley deserves his immense popularity. For almost 20 years he has produced a ceaseless stream of ideas, observations, jokes and strange insights in the form of left-field drawings that have appeared in broadsheet newspapers, books and magazines as well as galleries. Deadpan, escapist and distinctively cack-handed, they make up a little world in themselves * * Observer * * Shrigley's comedy appears to confirm the belief of great humourists (from Laurence Sterne to Woody Allen) that laughter is synonymous with hope. In the arena of contemporary art, Shrigley's work maintains a dualism, which is rare, rewarding and ultimately generous * * Frieze * * Half man, half legend * * The Skinny * * An artist touched by comic genius and something like full-blown lunacy * * The Lady * * One look at his new book, Weak Messages Create Bad Situations, and you start to understand the Turner Prize-nominated artist's mindset . . . Shrigley addresses the weird, dark and ugly sides of the world, but, most importantly, he'll make you laugh while doing so * * Shortlist * *