David Shrigley, Talk To The Hand, 2021

Talk To The Hand (2021) – David Shrigley Linocut

About the Work

Talk To The Hand (2021) is a striking David Shrigley linocut that delivers a stark, graphic impact through its bold monochrome palette. The composition features a hand-carved black hand silhouette set against the natural off-white background of the premium paper. Within the palm, the eponymous text is rendered in negative space, creating a powerful visual tension typical of his most celebrated graphic editions.

This dynamic composition captures a sense of modern absurdity, using a ubiquitous dismissive gesture to comment on contemporary social barriers. By elevating a colloquial, defensive phrase into a formal graphic emblem, the work exemplifies how the artist translates everyday anxieties into shared comedic relief.

David Shrigley

Nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013, David Shrigley has secured an enduring position in contemporary British art through his wry observations of daily life. His public commissions, including the celebrated Fourth Plinth sculpture in Trafalgar Square and regular inclusions in the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, have cemented his reputation worldwide. Today, his works are held in prestigious international institutions, from the Tate in London to the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

His celebrated practice bridges the gap between casual illustration and fine art printmaking, transforming spontaneous ink drawings into highly structured editions. Each David Shrigley print retains the urgent, immediate energy of his original notebook pages while benefiting from the refined materiality of professional print studio production.

Screenprint Process

Published in collaboration with the renowned Schaefer Grafisk Værksted, this edition demonstrates the meticulous attention to material detail that defines the artist's printmaking output. Unlike a multi-layered screenprint, this particular linocut relies on a single, richly saturated layer of black ink pressed deep into Somerset 300gsm paper. The resulting tactile indentation offers a physical depth that contrasts beautifully with the flat, clean fields of ink typically found in his screenprinting practice.

Collaborating with a premier print studio like Schaefer Grafisk Værksted allows the artist to preserve the raw, expressive quality of his hand-carved blocks. This hand-printed approach ensures that every David Shrigley limited edition print possesses a distinct texture where the ink meets the heavy paper fibres, highlighting the authentic craft behind the edition.

Collectability

Acquiring works from this period offers collectors an entry point into a highly sought-after segment of the artist's oeuvre. The combination of his signature dark humour and instantly recognisable imagery generates continued collector interest on the secondary market.

Representing an important text piece from his celebrated 2021 printmaking period, the piece remains a particularly desirable example of Shrigley's graphic practice. With an edition size of just 100, this release is significantly more limited than many of his larger commercial runs, further driving its appeal among serious print collectors.