David Shrigley, Pig Loves You, 2025

Pig Loves You (2025) – David Shrigley Print

About the Work

Pig Loves You (2025) is a striking David Shrigley woodcut that captures the artist's signature blend of graphic simplicity and subversive warmth. The composition features an endearing, hand-carved pig printed in dense black ink against a stark, unblemished background. This sharp contrast emphasises the heavy, textured lines characteristic of relief printing, drawing immediate focus to the animal's earnest expression.

Operating on an emotional register of pure dry humour, the juxtaposition of the blocky text 'Pig Loves You' with the raw, primitive carving of the animal creates a delightfully absurd declaration of affection. By rendering this disarming message through the physical, labour-intensive medium of wood carving, the work elevates a seemingly throwaway sentiment into a permanent, monumental gesture. This playful tension between form and content remains central to the enduring appeal of the image.

David Shrigley

As one of the most celebrated contemporary British artists, David Shrigley has built a globally recognised practice spanning drawing, sculpture, and public installations. His nomination for the Turner Prize in 2013 and his celebrated Fourth Plinth commission in Trafalgar Square, Really Good, cemented his position within the canon of modern satire. Shrigley's work is held in prestigious public collections worldwide, including Tate and the British Council.

His distinctively crude aesthetic translates seamlessly from quick ink sketches to more permanent physical editions. In this David Shrigley print, the deliberate translation of spontaneous line work into a hand-carved block highlights his ability to find profound meaning in the mock-trivial. This graphic immediacy ensures that each edition functions as both a visual joke and a biting critique of contemporary human behaviour.

Print Process

Developed in close collaboration with the master printmakers at Jealous Gallery, this work showcases the tactile depth unique to traditional relief printing. The woodcut process involves hand-carving the negative space out of a wooden block, leaving the raised grain to be heavily inked and pressed onto Somerset textured paper. This traditional method allows the natural grain and imperfections of the wood to show through, making every impression in the small run subtly unique.

The resistance of the wood block forces a deliberate slowing down of the artist's characteristically rapid drawing style, resulting in thicker, more deliberate lines. This physical tension is beautifully preserved in this David Shrigley limited edition print, which serves as a testament to his ongoing partnership with the Jealous studio. The final result is a powerful graphic statement that maintains the vital energy of an original drawing.

Collectability

Artworks featuring animals have long driven strong collector interest within the artist's secondary market, frequently becoming some of his most sought-after subjects. The universal appeal of the text and animal combination in Pig Loves You ensures its high visibility and enduring demand. Acquiring works that combine these signature motifs offers collectors a quintessential example of his celebrated style.

Echoing the aesthetic hallmarks of his highly coveted early Jealous period, this 2025 woodcut represents a rare return to a highly restricted edition size of just 30 copies. Given the exceptionally low run compared to his larger colour screenprints, the piece offers a compelling opportunity for seasoned collectors to acquire a scarce and highly graphic edition. This combination of a low edition size and iconic subject matter underpins its continued collector interest in the global art market.