David Shrigley

After visiting sketch and seeing David Shrigley’s illustrations covering the walls I wanted to learn more about him. I liked the way he looked at life and thought it was interesting how mundane but relatable some of his sketches were featuring everyday feelings and very dry humour.

He brands himself as an outsider in the art world and the majority of his work is illustrations with a child like aesthetic as they feature crossed-out words, scribbles, uneven lines, and darkly funny observations of the world. They are flat compositions which take on the inconsequential, the bizarre, and the disquieting elements of everyday life. As the words he writes along side these images often feel like the small voice you sometimes hear in your head from time to time.

I found he also dabbles in photography and sculpture with his photos still featuring his signature handwriting which is placed on inanimate objects from coconuts to notebooks in mundane settings. My favourite of his photography pieces seemed to be ones that focused on mental health. One in particularly the giant paint bucket labelled ‘antidepressants’. I liked the dark humour he placed on an otherwise taboo subject.

One of his most recent displays of work was at the Skip Gallery, which is essentially a bright yellow skip at the side of the road in London featuring different artists work. As for his exhibition it featured a small and simple sculpture of 3D words saying ‘look at this’ made out of bronze. 

It seemed to be taking art to its most literal form taking charge of the viewer in a very ironic display,  making art seem almost stupid as we all just stare at something like sheep and follow the crowd. I also really enjoyed the sunflower yellow of the skip featuring his working giving his otherwise very monochrome pallet a pop of colour.

Overall I feel David Shrigley’s work is full of straight up observations and an interesting look on darker topics with a hint of humour. I like his handwriting style and feel many of his pieces would work well incorporating embroidery in some way with the uneven and scribbly lines he uses. He is able to work in wide range of forms but I do enjoy his straight up prints and illustration best with the shapes and style he uses.

A Dolls House for Adults

The Gallery

Sketch a restaurant I recently visited based in central London, it is one of the most Instagram friendly places in the UK, with one room in particularly; the gallery which was commissioned by David Shrigley.  

The room has a clear pastel pink colour pallet with everything from the walls to the furniture covered in the dusty shade. The chairs look like giant Marshmallows with their velvet textures and covering the walls is 239 original David Shirgley illustrations. His art work is simple and with a touch of humour as small cartoon images are accompanied by witty statements. His artwork even reaches out on to the tables as the ceramic tableware also features his signature scribbles with the teapots and milk jugs featuring labels of ‘ghosts’ and ‘dreams’. These little handwritten comments are fun and intriguing, I think they may work well when used with small stitched embroidery on garments or maybe even the finishing touches to a photo shoot.

 The overall feeling of the room is dream like, even the bar with its rose gold finishing and vintage lamps spaced out across the top. As the textures of the room split up the single shade used through out the space as new and old merge together. The dreamy aesthetic of the gallery with its perfect symmetry and its small details you find the longer you sit there is what makes this décor so beautiful.

'Its Called Art Mum, Look It Up'

The Exhibition

After my previous post on the artist Polly Nor, I discovered she had opened up her second solo exhibition called ‘Its Called Mum, Look It Up’; the title fitting along nicely with all the teenage angst portrayed in her work. The exhibition was held for a limited time of only four days and featured a full collection of her digital illustrations alongside original hand-drawings, sculpture work and an immersive installation room.

The immersive room was a remake of the bedroom seen across many of Polly Nor’s illustrations, using a colour pallet of dusky pinks, lavenders and blues, as deep green forestation crawled up the walls creating a dream like setting. Technology also featured in the room making it interactive as you could sit down with the mint headphones at the computer on the desk and watch a small animation as if the room was actually yours. 

It was the small details which really captured the 21^st century girl though with the millennial pink fidget spinner and useless trinket boxes scattering the sides. The wardrobe was also to die for filled with pastel satins and furs keeping with the colour scheme. I loved the way all the tones in the room pulled together so I have created a colour pallet below for reference.

Thick Skin

Another highlight of the exhibition was one of her never seen before sculptures featuring latex skins suspended in the middle of the exhibition space, as if several girls had just taken off their skin and hung it up like you do with your jacket after a long day at work. The skins and hair came in multiple shades, some screwed up on the floor while others carefully hanged representing the suit we put on in public and how we people want to perceive our identity.  

Alongside all this the walls were covered in square white frames which featured Polly Nor’s sketches with her on going theme of devils through out representing everyone’s anxieties, frustrations and secret desires. ‘A Series Of Nine’ was a favourite of mine as multiple photos depict a woman embracing the devil as he slowly unzips her skin revealing she too is also a devil as her mask is discarded on the floor.

La Bodega Negra

About La Bodega Negra

I recently visited La Bodega Negra which is a Mexican restaurant located in Soho, London. The inside is pretty much standard of what you expect tables, chairs and soft mood lights, but this is all hidden away behind the facade of a controversial sex shop.

The windows are filled with pink neon lights advertising peep shows and strip teases alongside a padlock heart and oversized plump lips. There is a retro feel to the shop front with the stencil font used but also from the advertisement of adult video. It entices you in with the word come lit up above the front door as nothing indicates its a restaurant instead of the sleazy place it claims to be.

I like the design of deception and how it almost makes the restaurant have a reverse speakeasy theme, but also relates back to Polly Nor and how people choose to be perceived online, pretending to be something there not. However, Las Bodega Negra does this in a slightly unusual way taking something that society looks down on and thinks should be hidden away and instead being loud about it therefore making a more exclusive venue.

Polly Nor

Women And Their Demons

Polly Nor is an influncing illustrator I discovered through Instagram, her work mainly focuses on the female form and she describes her illustrations as ‘women and their demons’. She uses a fun cartoon graphic style and a pastel colour pallet putting a feminine touch on these graphic images.

No Filter

The dark and satirical drawings capture the real 21^st Century Woman in her natural state doing everyday tasks such as lounging, smoking, masturbating or taking mirror selfies. Along side these women many of the images also feature the devil which is the character’s imagination representing her inner turmoil and an unstable part of herself she wants to keep away from the rest of the world. It’s a devilish manifestation of anxieties, frustrations and secret desires.

In Your Dreams

Babe Your Going To Be Fine

These ideas relate well to Millennials like myself, as we have been the first generation to grow up with social media and effectively being able to edit our lives online. As a generation we can now show people what we want them to see rather than the reality by living life through an Instagram filter with this unhealthy internet addiction. This whole obsession with the internet is a key theme behind a lot of Poly Nor’s drawings.

No Filter

Stuck On You

The Feel When Gucci

Polly Nor’s illustrations has even been featured in a Gucci art project for the launch of their new watches. The project is called The Feel When Gucci and features multiple artists having their work turned into memes. Her image in particular is relatable and humorous using the same iconic devil representing another one of our many evil sides, this time focusing a little less on just women and relating to both genders.

Her overall influence looks at relevant feelings many of us experience daily but don’t express, focusing on peoples worst sides rather than their best. As well as looking at feminism, sexuality and how women want be/are perceived by others.

Long Days Short Nights