Sell Your Soul (2012) – David Shrigley Screenprint

About the Work

Sell Your Soul (2012) is a striking David Shrigley screenprint that confronts the viewer with a stark existential proposition rendered in the artist's signature hand-drawn aesthetic. Utilising a saturated, vibrant blue ink, the hand-drawn typography is framed by a minimalist rectangular border on a pristine, heavy paper surface. The intentional simplicity of the composition focuses all attention on the jarring juxtaposition between the dark, Faustian command and its playful visual delivery.

Through this lens of social observation, the work satirises the compromises demanded by modern consumerism and the contemporary art market itself. By reducing a profound moral crisis to a casual, sign-like directive, the composition highlights how easily human values are commodified in contemporary society.

David Shrigley

As a Turner Prize nominee and the creative force behind the celebrated Fourth Plinth commission in Trafalgar Square, David Shrigley has secured a pivotal place in contemporary British art. His work is held in prestigious public institutions worldwide, including Tate and the British Council, cementing his legacy as a master of deadpan commentary. Regular appearances at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition continue to introduce his subversive vision to new generations of international collectors.

The artist's practice translates the raw, immediate energy of his daily drawing journal into highly controlled graphic works. Each David Shrigley print preserves the deliberate imperfections and ink bleeds of the original sketches, elevating casual marginalia into celebrated museum-quality art.

Screenprint Process

Employing a highly tactile material approach, the edition is executed on heavyweight Arches Aquarelles wove paper with beautifully finished hand-deckled edges. The physical weight of this luxury paper provides a rich contrast to the flat, saturated screenprint ink, creating a subtle depth that digital reproductions cannot capture. Multiple layers of pigment are applied to ensure the blue hue remains exceptionally intense and velvety to the touch.

This precise methodology ensures that every David Shrigley limited edition print retains the spontaneous, wet-ink quality of the artist's original drawing marker. Published by Stephen Friedman Gallery, the printmaking process was closely monitored to achieve a flawless translation of the artist's raw, unedited graphic line.

Collectability

Text-based works from this period command sustained collector interest due to their instant visual recognition and cultural resonance. The stark simplicity of the imagery ensures that the work functions as both an intellectual statement and a highly decorative graphic piece.

Representing an important text piece from his highly sought-after 2012 printmaking period, the work remains a particularly desirable example of the artist's practice. With a relatively small edition size of just 100, examples of Sell Your Soul are increasingly difficult to source on the secondary market, driving continued appeal among serious print collectors.

Artwork Specifications

• Artist: David Shrigley (British, b. 1968)
• Title: Sell Your Soul
• Medium: Screenprint in colours with hand-deckled edges on Arches Aquarelles wove paper
• Dimensions: 76.2 x 55.9 cm
• Edition: Edition of 100
• Year: 2012
• Markings: Signed, numbered and dated on the front