A profound, unsettling and very funny new book from the cult artist, David Shrigley.
At the centre of the inside of the human brain's mind is the place where one can find the reasons why human beings behave in such peculiar, delightful and unpleasant ways. I, the author of this book (D.Shrigley BA (Hons)) shall take the reader on a journey around the human brain and along the way I shall point-out various things that are worthy of discussion.
We will start our journey in the eye as that is a common entrance place to the brain. I shall ruminate about the eye and its properties. I shall tell how the eye's seeing is sorted-out in the brain and the magical nature of it and I shall warn of all the things that can go wrong in this sorting-out process. After the eye, we shall travel to the ear and discuss the world that is heard and how it is heard in the brain and all the awful things that can go wrong; some of them amusing and some not amusing. Taste and smell will of course be covered as these are also things of interest to the brain. We will also touch upon touch, so to speak. We will also touch upon the scalp, but only lightly and briefly.
Once we have looked at the brain's government of the senses we shall start to talk about the really interesting stuff. Like how the brain decides what is right and wrong and why some people are very charming and others behave like monkeys. Some other questions that might be dealt-with are as follows: Could my brain be removed and replaced with a computer? Why can't I remember my wife's name? I can constantly hear a faint whistling sound; is it the sound of my brain functioning?
Industry Reviews
* Funny and profound and surprising all at the same time -- Harry Hill * David Shrigley is probably the funniest gallery-type artist who ever lives -- Dave Eggers * On the kink of his line Shrigley can shift effortlessly from pathos to paranoia. And his work is funny - very funny; his timing devastatingly effective -- Will Self * Excellent ... There's more to Shrigley than his knowing nods to high art Guardian, on Brain Activity, at the Hayward Gallery * Shrigley deserves his immense popularity. For almost 20 years he has produced a ceaseless stream of ideas, observations, jokes and strange insights in the form of left-field drawings that have appeared in broadsheet newspapers, books and magazines as well as galleries. Deadpan, escapist and distinctively cack-handed, they make up a little world in themselves Observer * Simultaneously unsettling and humorous Designboom, on Brain Activity, at the Hayward Gallery * [A] master of modern surrealism. Evening Standard * Shrigley mines a mordant, scatological seam, conjuring up the dark tradition of British humour that threw up Tony Hancock and Chris Morris. The Times * With a casual gesture Shrigley points to that hideous shape whose name I've never known - and then he names it. And the name is profoundly, embarrassingly familiar. I'm laughing while frantically searching for a pen, so desperate to capture the feeling he has unearthed in me. -- Miranda July * A must for fans of the absurd. ES magazine * David Shrigley messes with my head. -- Moira Jeffreys Scotland on Sunday * Half man, half legend. The Skinny * An artist touched by comic genius and something like full-blown lunacy. The Lady * One of the most successful contemporary artists of his generation ... Sketchy, darkly humorous, occasionally violent and always arch, his drawings and animations are stylistically naive, and his sculptures are intentionally awkward CityLife
