‘Lockdown Drawings’ is a new body of work created by British artist David Shrigley during the UK’s coronavirus lockdown in spring 2020. Encompassing 340 works to date, these quick-witted ink on paper drawings reveal chance utterings and satirical comments on everyday situations and human interactions. Shrigley produced these works at his home by the sea in Devon, in the southwest of England. “We decamped here from Brighton. And I brought 500 sheets of paper and several bottles of ink,” the artist says. “I have a little studio in the house [and] I’m able to do my thing.”
Shrigley is best known for his distinctive drawing style and works that are deadpan in their humour. His drawing practice involves a lengthy editing process of exploring ideas and throwing things away. The artist explains, “My working method is to make a set number of drawings every day. In doing that, it’s a good way to avoid contrivance. So my only task is to really just to sort of fill the page or fill a number of pages and then somehow the work seems to make itself. But if I focus on the process rather than the finished artwork, then that somehow allows me to make something that somehow works.”
‘Lockdown Drawings’ continues the artist’s exploration of the absurdities of everyday life. One cannot help but view these works through the prism of the Covid-19 pandemic, something Shrigley acknowledges when discussing their creation. “It’s all an experiment, trying to get somewhere that you didn’t really know that you wanted to go. It’s quite a meditative process. It feels quite healthy emotionally, it’s somewhere where you can go, where I can go to escape from ‘reality’, such as it is right now.”
| Duration | 27 May 2020 - 07 June 2020 |
| Times | online |
| Cost | Free |
| Venue | Stephen Friedman Gallery |
| Address | 5–6 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LQ |
| Contact | 4402074941434 / info@stephenfriedman.com / www.stephenfriedman.com/ |