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Who I Am and What I Want
The internationally acclaimed pop artist offers his dementedly clever perspective on everything from dolphins, boredom, and beer to supernatural forces.
With deadpan humor and unsettling imagery, Scottish pop artist David Shrigley’s scrawls from the subconscious have earned him major gallery showings and legions of fans. In this mock autobiographical collection, his mischievous drawings capture life’s anxieties and ambitions from the mundane to the surreal. Seductively strange and addictively amusing, this edgy book welcomes the uninitiated and rewards the faithful.
With deadpan humor and unsettling imagery, Scottish pop artist David Shrigley’s scrawls from the subconscious have earned him major gallery showings and legions of fans. In this mock autobiographical collection, his mischievous drawings capture life’s anxieties and ambitions from the mundane to the surreal. Seductively strange and addictively amusing, this edgy book welcomes the uninitiated and rewards the faithful.
149 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
David Shrigley
74 books119 followersDavid Shrigley is a Glasgow-based artist. He attended City of Leicester Polytechnic's Art and Design course in 1987-1988, and subsequently studied Environmental Art at the Glasgow School of Art from 1988-1991. Shrigley is a lifelong supporter of Nottingham Forest FC.
Although he works in various media, he is best known for his mordantly humorous cartoons released in softcover books or postcard packs.
Like the poet Ivor Cutler, Shrigley finds humour in flat depictions of the inconsequential, the unavailing and the bizarre - although he is far fonder of violent or otherwise disquieting subject matter. Shrigley's work has two of the characteristics often encountered in outsider art - an odd viewpoint, and (in some of his work) a deliberately limited technique. His freehand line is often weak, which jars with his frequent use of a ruler; his forms are often very crude; and annotations in his drawings are poorly executed and frequently contain crossings-out (In authentic outsider art, the artist has no choice but to produce work in his or her own way, even if that work is unconventional in content and inept in execution. In contrast, it is likely that Shrigley has chosen his style and range of subject matter for comic effect).
As well as authoring several books, he directed the video for Blur's 'Good Song' and also for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's 'Agnes Queen of Sorrow'. From 2005 he has contributed a cartoon for The Guardian's Weekend magazine every Saturday. He is represented in Paris by the by Yvon Lambert Gallery, and in 2005 designed a London Underground leaflet cover.
David Shrigley co-directed an animate!-commissioned film with award-winning director Chris Shepherd called Who I Am And What I Want, based on Shrigley's book of the same title. Kevin Eldon voiced its main character, Pete. He also produced a series of drawings and t-shirt designs for the 2006 Triptych festival, a Scottish music festival lasting for three to four days in three cities. He has also designed twelve different covers for Deerhoof's 2007 record, Friend Opportunity.
The name of Jason Mraz's third studio album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. is a reference to a piece of art by Shrigley which caught Mraz's attention while he was travelling through Scotland
Although he works in various media, he is best known for his mordantly humorous cartoons released in softcover books or postcard packs.
Like the poet Ivor Cutler, Shrigley finds humour in flat depictions of the inconsequential, the unavailing and the bizarre - although he is far fonder of violent or otherwise disquieting subject matter. Shrigley's work has two of the characteristics often encountered in outsider art - an odd viewpoint, and (in some of his work) a deliberately limited technique. His freehand line is often weak, which jars with his frequent use of a ruler; his forms are often very crude; and annotations in his drawings are poorly executed and frequently contain crossings-out (In authentic outsider art, the artist has no choice but to produce work in his or her own way, even if that work is unconventional in content and inept in execution. In contrast, it is likely that Shrigley has chosen his style and range of subject matter for comic effect).
As well as authoring several books, he directed the video for Blur's 'Good Song' and also for Bonnie 'Prince' Billy's 'Agnes Queen of Sorrow'. From 2005 he has contributed a cartoon for The Guardian's Weekend magazine every Saturday. He is represented in Paris by the by Yvon Lambert Gallery, and in 2005 designed a London Underground leaflet cover.
David Shrigley co-directed an animate!-commissioned film with award-winning director Chris Shepherd called Who I Am And What I Want, based on Shrigley's book of the same title. Kevin Eldon voiced its main character, Pete. He also produced a series of drawings and t-shirt designs for the 2006 Triptych festival, a Scottish music festival lasting for three to four days in three cities. He has also designed twelve different covers for Deerhoof's 2007 record, Friend Opportunity.
The name of Jason Mraz's third studio album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. is a reference to a piece of art by Shrigley which caught Mraz's attention while he was travelling through Scotland
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
May 14, 2011
I was really surprised by just how many pages in this book reveal something extremely human in an extremely abstract and unfamiliar way. I expected to finish this book with a few giggles, put it down, and say, "well that was weird." But all I could say was "wow." I read this book in perpetual surprise and appreciation.
May 9, 2020
This is only the second collection of Shrigley that I’ve sifted through but I believe it’s a strong example of an artist compendium. Who I Am and What I Want loses the inconsequential quality of most of Shrigley’s other collections and doubles down on the existential absurdism. I recommend this piece because he didn’t sacrifice his trademark style and content to create a cohesive collection of works that most can actually follow. It’s still very much self-aware. It still talks to you with the same cavalier yet so desperate tone it somehow managed to create in your head.
July 1, 2023
David S. er lættis
February 26, 2008
Just hilarious and brilliant. I love it.
November 19, 2008
The word of the true messiah.
December 16, 2011
the pictures are awesome
October 29, 2007
The title says it all.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews