David Shrigley, Keep Your Ass Away from the Cactus, 2020

Keep Your Ass Away from the Cactus (2020) – David Shrigley Screenprint

About the Work

Keep Your Ass Away from the Cactus (2020) is a striking David Shrigley screenprint that juxtaposes a coarsely drawn green cactus against a flat, saturated yellow background. This vivid composition commands attention with its high-contrast palette and bold, hand-rendered black lettering positioned above the prickly plant. Through this simple yet arresting visual arrangement, the work functions as both a warning sign and a piece of comic theatre.

Capturing Shrigley's signature brand of dry humour, the piece delivers an overtly literal piece of advice with mock-seriousness. The aggressive spikes of the succulent and the blunt directive of the text highlight the comical absurdity of stating the obvious. This interplay between visual threat and verbal banality elevates a basic hazard warning into a profound observation on human behaviour.

David Shrigley

Nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013, David Shrigley has established himself as one of the most prominent chroniclers of contemporary life. His celebrated public commissions, including the monumental Fourth Plinth sculpture Really Good in Trafalgar Square and his regular appearances at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, have cemented his status within major global institutions. Today, his works are held in prestigious public collections worldwide, from the Tate in London to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Transitioning his quick-witted, ink-on-paper drawings into the realm of fine art multiples allows the artist to democratise his practice while maintaining the urgency of his original line. Each David Shrigley print acts as a capsule of his immediate thoughts, preserving the deliberate imperfections and scratchy textures of his hand. This translation of rapid illustration into refined graphic editions offers collectors a direct connection to his distinctive creative lexicon.

Screenprint Process

Utilising the classic screenprint method, the production process of this piece involves layering heavy, opaque inks to achieve the flat, vibrant fields of colour that define Shrigley's aesthetic. Printed on heavyweight Somerset paper, the work showcases distinct layers of saturated yellow and deep green, finished with a crisp black ink overlay for the text and outline. This precise screenprinting technique gives the composition a physical, tactile presence that digital prints cannot replicate.

Working closely with Jealous Gallery, the master printers have meticulously captured the scratchy nuances of the artist's original pen strokes. This collaboration ensures that every David Shrigley limited edition print retains the spontaneous, raw energy of the initial drawing while meeting rigorous studio standards. The resulting edition is a testament to the printmaking studio's ability to translate intimate drawings into powerful, large-scale graphic works.

Collectability

Pieces featuring bold typography and recognisable imagery remain highly sought after by collectors due to their immediate visual impact. Keep Your Ass Away from the Cactus exemplifies this demand, combining his highly coveted text-based style with a central botanical motif. Such works consistently generate strong collector interest globally, maintaining a robust presence in the contemporary secondary market.

Representing a major colour work from his celebrated 2020 Jealous Gallery printmaking period, the piece remains a particularly desirable example of Shrigley's printmaking practice. Produced in a limited run of 125, the relatively small size of this edition further elevates its appeal among seasoned collectors. This scarcity, paired with the work's distinctive aesthetic, ensures its enduring relevance within the artist's graphic oeuvre.