artists share messages of hope: as the population of italy, and many other parts of the world, continue to endure lockdown conditions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, designboom — whose headquarters is in milan — has reached out to artists to share messages of hope with our readers worldwide. british artist david shrigley has dedicated an illustration that makes us smile.

david shrigley
thank you ruinart and david shrigley for the dedicated artwork

 

 

shrigley’s illustration takes the form of a tabloid newspaper’s front page, among an overload of overwhelming media coverage around COVID-19. this pandemic is stressful for billions of people around the globe, and his message elaborates about having a collective experience that everyone is going through at the same time.

 

 

 

designboom: what’s the best moment of the day for you?

david shrigley: ‘when I walk my dog on the beach in brighton or in the fields in devon. but that’s not the only good moment, I became acutely aware these days that I am extremely lucky to be an artist. I wake up every morning and I get to do whatever I want, well, most of the time. so when my dog is not around. creating artworks in my studio is probably the other good time of the day.’

 

 

DB: is there any topic or subject that is off limits for you? any taboos?

DS: ‘I think taboos only exist in context. I’d also like to think I am socially responsible as an artist; it’s not my desire to offend people. but it’s difficult not to cause offence sometimes as my artworks can reach almost everyone in the world through the internet.
I try not to worry about it anyway. I guess I have a bigger voice than most people do because of being an artist. so I will continue to say what I think and to encourage positivity. it’s easy to be negative in these dark times. but I’ve decided to be positive.’

 

 

 

david shrigley’s ‘NEWS’ brings us an honest, humorous, and clear message to help understand what’s meaningful and what our values really are. there is a desperate irony in shrigley’s work, and he frequently shares his satirical illustrations on his instagram. 

 

 

DB: how do you use instagram as a way of communicating your work? does the platform have any disadvantages?

DS: ‘I usually publish one drawing a day on instagram with no specific constraint about how the grid looks like. I enjoy the idea it can reach many people and be thought-provoking but once it’s posted, I move to something else. I never read the comments or the messages. the platform can get very time-consuming and I want to avoid that.’
 

 

 

designboom also recently received a message of hope from olafur eliasson dedicated to italian friends and family, encouraging us to use this time for creativity, caring, and contentedness. 

david shrigley
david shrigley at work