Weak Messages Create Bad Situations: A Manifesto

David Shrigley is probably the funniest gallery-type artist who ever lived -- DAVE EGGERS Shrigley mines a mordant, scatological seam, conjuring up the dark tradition of British humour that threw up Tony Hancock and Chris Morris * * The Times * * 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 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 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 * * 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 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 * * Brims over with skew-whiff observations on the absurdity of modern life . . . Shrigley's bonkers, mordant, often joyously meaningless doodles are always oddly life-affirming * * Metro * * Brilliant, enormous . . . We love David's new book, which totally sums up the feeling of helplessly skidding downhill on a bicycle with no brakes towards a cliff. * * It's Nice That * *

David Shrigley was born in Macclesfield in 1968 and studied at Glasgow School of Art. His work has been exhibited at the Tate Modern in London, at the MoMA in New York, and in Paris, Berlin, Melbourne and beyond. He has published over twenty books, and has animated a music video for Blur and produced another for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy. His work has also been profiled in a documentary for Channel 4. He was nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013 and his sculpture Really Good was displayed on Trafalgar Square's fourth plinth from 2016-18. He lives and works in Brighton.