Pulped Fiction: The Shrigley Code

Since graduating from the Glasgow School of Art in the 90s with a 2:2 degree, and working as a guide/art handler at Glasgow’s Centre of Contemporary Arts, David Shrigley has definitely come a long way. “I saw all these other artists who were able to chat up Hans Ulrich Obrist [the renowned supercurator] when he came to town. I just couldn’t do that, and I guess I was a bit bitter about that – too shy. I thought I would never have any success as a result”, said David to The Guardian, unaware at the beginning of his own talent, and in total disbelief of what he could achieve.

A quarter of century after his humble beginnings in Glasgow, David Shirgley is now a renowned British visual artist whose work has transcended the borders of his hometown and beyond, thanks to his unique POV, his satirical commentary and his characteristic style as an illustrator and cartoonist. When asked who he draws for, he ironically says “my audience is women aged between 25 and 34 in London”, quoting his Instagram analytics, and that in itself says it all about his irreverence as a person and as an artist. His days goes by with him painting endlessly in his studio, delegating the curating and selection process for his books to others, as he admits he can’t grasp what his audience is expecting of him: “The gallery would send me an inventory of all the works that were unsold and I would look at them and think: ‘I can’t believe that that painting didn’t sell. I can’t believe that that one didn’t sell … That’s brilliant, that one!’ Things that were just perfect, that represented everything I wanted to say about my existence – and the meaning, and irony thereof. But did anybody agree with me? No. No. They just wanted the ones of the cat”. His standing back could be seen as cynical of a lack of interest on his part, but it’s the total opposite, as he puts making the art itself first, and the art world second. “Just being alone in this room makes me really happy, with my paper and my paints and my pens”, David adds.

More recently, David made head turns once more with his latest endeavor: upcycling books and turning them into something new. Why is this news? Well, with this project titled ‘Pulped Fiction’, Shrigley crafted 1250 copies of George Orwell’s iconic dystopian novel ‘1984’ using conventional materials: the pulped remnants of discarded copies of Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’. Once one of the most popular books in the world, ‘The Da Vinci Code’ found itself being discarded massively after being used by owners, even making headlines in 2017 after a charity bookshop in Swansea, UK displayed hundreds of copies of the book in its window with a sign asking people to stop donating the book to them, as they had too many copies of it.

Shrigley saw this and took the opportunity of turning it into his next artistic endeavor. He collected 6000 unwanted copies of The Da Vinci Code, mushed them all and created his special edition copies of Orwell’s novel. The book cover features the title and author’s name in Shrigley’s signature handwritten font, black letters on a white background. The project launched on November 4th, 2023, at a special pop-up weekend hosted at the same charity shop in Swansea that started it all. No, this project didn’t include any cartoons or drawings, but his satirical commentary was obviously present. We’re eager to see what he’s coming up with next.