GATESHEAD.- Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art presents an exhibition of new work by Scottish based artist David Shrigley from Wednesday 10 September until Sunday 9 November 2008. The exhibition will consist of previously unseen animations and sculptures.
David Shrigley is perhaps best known for his intuitive drawings that are typically dead-pan in their humour. His cartoon-like sketches are deliberately dysfunctional and deal with everyday doubts and fears of the human condition. Throughout the work a nonsensical and anarchic voice is ever present. With hand-written, unedited texts or assigned titles altering the perspective, the artistic results range from poignant to absurd. His work often asks questions about the nature of contemporary art and its audience. He parodies the excess of the culture market and his rapidly executed and sometimes crudely made sculptures suggest a desire to exploit and question its logic.
Within the enclosed Ground Floor Gallery the visitor will first discover a collection of sculptures. Moving to the rear of the space (located within projection cubicles) are two new black and white animated films Sleep (2008) and Lightswitch (2007).
In sculpture, Shrigley plays with the form creating curious and eccentric propositions by transforming everyday objects or playing with scale. This exhibition will include new sculptural works which continue these interests such as Cheers a pair of grey fishing waders and Wellington boots filled with expanding foam. Other recent works have included stuffed animals and doors, as well as tents and sleeping bags filled with foam that grows uncontrollably, allowing the artist little influence over the final form.
Death and destruction also features strongly in Shrigley’s work and presented for the first time at Baltic is Gravestone, a macabre life-sized stone engraving.
In addition to an extensive international exhibition profile, Shrigley’s work has become widely known through appearances in newspapers, including since 2005, a weekly contribution to The Guardian. His animation has also gained a broad appeal through commissions such as Who I Am And What I Want for Channel 4 and a promotional video for Brit Pop band Blur’s Good Song. Recent projects have included the album Worried Noodles (Tom Lab, 2007) where musicians have interpreted his writings as lyrics; collaborators included David Byrne, Hot Chip and Franz Ferdinand.
