David Shrigley on the simple way to get over blank page anxiety

Having recently returned to his studio in Brighton from his home in Devon, British artist David Shrigley closed off the evening in his signature wry style. A rambling and winding but altogether fascinating talk, David took us through what’s been keeping him busy in recent times. “I am basically, maybe disappointingly, going to show you what I’ve posted on Instagram during lockdown,” he joked.

“I’m best known for making 2D work, on paper,” he later continued, revealing that he only ever makes an artwork once. (Except when they get lost in the mail, that is.) For David, lockdown, therefore, hasn’t been too much of a struggle as his work is somewhat feasible in any location, but also, he told us, because isolating himself for long periods of time to make work is something he’s been doing for 30 years now!

David’s talk concluded with several questions coming from the audience including when his most creative time of day is, whether he still struggles with blank page anxiety and whether it’s worth going to art school or not.