David Shrigley: Brain Activity - The funny side of art

There is something very exciting about David Shrigley's surrealist work, currently showing at The Hayward Gallery. Often compared to the Surrealist Greats such as Magritte and Dali, David Shrigley seems to me more of a surrealist Banksy; using shocking, hilarious and at times, ingeniously straighforward methods to evoke a response to current moral issues. And like Banksy, Shrigley's got his calling card down to a T. The slightly childlike scrawl that comes with most of his works will be familiar to anyone that has been into a gallery gift shop in the last ten years; his novelty books usually residing beside The Bunny Suicides by the cash desk. His drawing technique is also unlike any other, kind of like someone has taken an innocent child's drawing and given it a menacing edge. 

Walking around the gallery, you notice how normal, every day objects take on a completely different meaning when coupled with other objects or put in unnerving positions and new perspectives. The words and captions Shrigley uses are key to the exhibition's success. Even the title of the pieces (which lets face it, are so often ignored or are completely irrelevant) play a part in the joke. Take for example 'What decay looks like'. What at first appears to be a tooth checking itself out in a comical over sized mirror, is also at the same time, a play on words and leads the viewer to question the judgements they make at first glance. 

A lot of the work, Shrigley has created to suggest only the object in question knows what the true meaning is. 'I'm dead' which forms part of the 'death room' features a jack russell  holding up a placard as if in protest to something we are unaware of, which simply says 'I'm dead'. The steward at the gallery remarked on how interesting he found it watching people's reactions to this piece in particular and when you see it, you can understand why. The dog is very much dead, although uncannily life-like through taxidermy. What's particularly terrifying is the look in it's cute little eyes- like it really actually knows something we don't. What are we to make of this other than laugh? The dog doesn't seem to mind whether it's dead or alive, so perhaps we shouldn't either. This moral conundrum is a common topic of Shrigley's work and when you take into account his explanation; 'It's a matter of making fun of the things you could get depressed about' it becomes clear that this something is death itself. The theme of death continues with the shopping list inscribed on a tombstone. Who's shopping list is it? Did they ever get their shopping done? In a way, the shopping list distracts the viewer away from the very obvious symbol of death, the tombstone itself. It is these sorts of questions that the viewer ponders throughout the exhibition.

And what about the humour? well there's certainly plenty of it in Brain Activity. And i'm not talking about uncontrollable laughter- some pieces tickled me more than others. Particularly 'Balloon' probably my favourite of Shrigley's photographs just because I think it must have the ability to lift anyone out of a bad mood. (it's currently my desktop background- it hasn't failed yet) The works aren't pretentious, the few animations are ingenious and the sculptures? dark without being bad taste. 


For me, art has to evoke some sort of emotion in the viewer. It seems fitting that in todays miserable climate, humour should if anything, be the pre-requisite.


Brain Activity is showing at the Hayward Gallery until Sunday 13 May 2012. I urge you to go!

Attention Brighton! A5 Open Art Exhibition open until April and worth a visit

The inaugural Brighton A5 Open Art Exhibition (until 6 April 2012), went off to a flying start at the private view  on Sunday 27 November when one lucky first prize winner and four runners up were announced. The exhibition which takes place at the Outside In Community Gallery in Brighton, is now open for visitors to come and see the winning works as well as the other 180 entries from the competition, which was organised by Pallant House Gallery and Outside In earlier this year.


The prize of their own solo exhibition at the Outside In Gallery went to Ian Pyper, for his original, eye-catching work entitled ‘Hairy Monoped (Sciapod)’.  Speaking of his work Ian said ‘I was inspired to draw the image as I'd drawn identical versions of this as a child at every opportunity I could. I have no idea where the image came from, but it somehow came to represent me and my 'identity'. I scribbled it on books and pieces of paper for quite some time afterwards.’ Ian has recently started to draw on found paperback book pages, the ideal size for the A5 competition requirement! When asked about this unconventional mode of working, he said ‘book pages lack the intimidating 'blank white surface' that ordinary drawing paper does.’

Ian Pyper 'Hairy Monped (Sciapod)'

The four lucky runners up were awarded a community pass which includes free entry to Pallant House Gallery for a year and a year’s subscription to the gallery magazine. Judges were impressed by Paul Bellingham’s moving portraits ‘Head Study’ and ‘Face Study’ and by Michelle Brown’s colourful and playful drawings of animals entitled ‘Like’ and ‘Understood’.  Runner up was also awarded to Shirley Hart for her work ‘Vicar’ and Millie Popovic for her landscape painting ‘Viewpoint’.

Michelle Brown 'Like'

Michelle Brown 'Understood'

Every artist who entered the competition is a winner, with all work featuring in the exhibition. The interesting entry requirement of A5 sized work meant that a larger amount of work could go on display, which is an important factor for the Outside In Community Gallery which aims to bring work from the local community together, providing a link to the local area in which it is based. The A5 requirement particularly suited Ian Pyper who said; ‘I very rarely work on drawings much larger than A5 and in many ways it's the particular 'psychological format' for creating my art.’

Ian is already looking forward to his solo exhibition. He said ‘I've never had a big solo exhibition before, so this will be a very exciting and new experience.’ In the meantime, visitors can come and see Ian’s work as well as the huge variety of other works by exciting local artists until 6 April 2012. 

*Entry to the Outside In Community Gallery is free to the public. The gallery is open Tuesdays and Fridays, 1.30 until 3.30, with viewings also by appointment. To arrange a visit please call Outside In on 07735 68531 or Wellington House Day Centre on 01273 296240