David Shrigley: Unifying Football and Art
By Madina Burkhanova
Like the visual arts, football is considered by many to be a pillar of Scottish culture. Indeed, some view football as an art form itself. The professional playing of the sport necessitates a fine-tuned balance between delicate control and brutish force, not to mention resilience of the mind. Furthermore, football has been a vessel for some of the sports world's most impassioned rivalries. In England, these rivalries tend to be geographic; the weight of monumental derbies is placed on teams playing in the same town or city. Scottish football, specifically based in Glasgow, is distinguishable in the world of football for bringing sectarianism into play. The infamous feud between Rangers Football Club and Celtic Football Club is often equated with the conflict between Catholicism and Protestantism, a division of fan bases that often prompts bigotry and even severe violence. Being a fan of football is not for the faint of heart - this is for sure.
Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley perhaps did not assume that he would be enlisted into the sphere of football. Known for his distinctive, almost cartoon-like style, Shrigley is often known to make sarcastic commentary on common ways of life - his illustration below alludes to the consumerist approach that the process of skincare evokes in many.
David Shrigley, Untitled, 2020. Ink on paper, 42 x 29.7 cm, Glasgow, Scotland.
The next piece, shown below, needs no title (lucky, considering it doesn’t have one). It epitomises the blunt nature of some of Shrigley’s pieces and perhaps even brings to light the imposter syndrome he may have felt as a renowned artist in his respective sphere.
David Shrigley, Untitled, 2018. Neon, 229 x 143 cm, Glasgow, Scotland.
Not all of Shrigley’s pieces feature such dead-panning, though. They do tend to incorporate elements of quotidian life that he finds to be remarkable. The piece below, titled “Clock,” is a blurry image of a digital clock face. One possible interpretation of this piece could be the view one gets when awoken by an alarm from such a clock - from experience, I can say that that view is definitely not a clear, sharp one.
David Shrigley, Clock, 2020. LED screens, electronics, steel, 51.5 x 151.5 x 21.9 cm, Glasgow, Scotland.
In 2015, Glasgow-based football club Partick Thistle enlisted Shrigley’s help in creating its own mascot. Football mascots had, up until that point, usually been child-friendly fauna. Shrigley digressed; he created a creature resembling a jagged yellow star with empty, fear-inducing eyes. Journalist JJ Bull of the Telegraph described the mascot as “Lisa Simpson if she had been tortured and then melted. And then addicted to crystal meth.”
Image courtesy of Partick Thistle F.C.
Characteristically of football fans, the use of such a mascot invoked extremist reactions - some called for Shrigley to be “burned with fire.” How could he possibly equate such an image with football, and indeed, with Partick Thistle? In an interview, Shrigley told the Guardian that the mascot was a representation of the “angst of being a football fan.” There is a degree of irony; many of the fans bashing the artist in the wake of the mascot’s creation were likely to find a reflection of themselves in that same mascot. It was a massive risk on Shrigley’s part, though: the mascot was a multi-dimensional take in a sport that very much values straightforwardness. When asked to confront the idea of his mascot refusing to conform to the general trend of friendly, approachable mascots, Shrigley only said “do mascots have a good name? Do they have a union?”
Shrigley pictured with the mascot, image courtesy of Instagram/David Shrigley.
As daunting as it may look in images, the mascot has become a beloved fixture at Partick Thistle Football Club. Perhaps Shrigley knew that his mascot would have to stand the test of time in order to succeed; then again, it’s very possible that its creation was a complete shot in the dark, even a piss take if you will. David Shrigley has since moved to Brighton, England, but his legacy lives on in Glasgow (in the form of a misshapen and angry yellow star). His creation of the mascot is a representation of a unique collision of worlds - a whimsical, absurd, and perhaps avoidable encounter. While it's unconventional to say the least, perhaps this unity of renowned visual art and equally renowned football could pave the way for future collaborations. Then again, Shrigley’s work with Partick Thistle could just as likely prompt football clubs’ avoidance of famous artists altogether.
Works Cited:
Archer, Finn. “The Old Firm: Celtic, Rangers and Sectarianism in Scotland.“ ByArcadia, September 19, 2022.
Lee, Sophie. “Football Gone Too Far? David Shrigley’s Terror of Glasgow.“ Culture.com, January 17, 2023.
Stephen Friedman Gallery. “David Shrigley.“