david shrigley lines sketch restaurant's pink walls with 239 original drawings

british artist david shrigley has re-imagined the eclectic london restaurant, sketch, with primarily pink interiors and his own personal drawings, which line the surrounding walls. the site hosts 239 new works, the largest presentation of original shrigley drawings to date. the illustrations thematically consider motifs of life, death and beyond, which offer points of departure for diners to muse on. the exhibition continues onto the restaurant tables with bespoke ceramic tableware — manufactured by british brand caverswall — featuring shrigley’s trademark mordant drawings and texts, making the meal itself a site-specific sculptural work.

the restaurant’s interior design has been completed by india mahdavi
all images courtesy of david shrigley

shrigley humorously says of the ceramic-ware, ‘it will be the first artwork that I have made that can go in the dishwasher. it will be very clean artwork. clean artwork is good artwork, in my opinion.’

the gallery at sketch has been refurbished by paris based architect and designer india mahdavi, who has created a backdrop for shrigley’s artwork. a monochromatic pink canvasses the walls and velvet-covered furniture surrounds the tabletops. the classic design creates a deliberately playful contrast with the witty art works. additionally, fashion designer richard nicoll has created bespoke uniforms for the restaurant staff to wear — for women: the design is a play on nicoll’s signature t-shirt dress silhouette; for men: a grey boiler-suit.

the walls have been lined with site specific illustrations drawn by the artist

ceramic-ware with shrigley’s distinctive mordant drawings and texts are used throughout the restaurant

tea set features short phrases surrounding the themes of life and death

Save