David Shrigley, Untitled (Fish, Frog, Men), 2005

Untitled (Fish, Frog, Men) (2005) – David Shrigley Woodcut

About the Work

Untitled (Fish, Frog, Men) (2005) is a striking David Shrigley woodcut print that confronts the viewer with a stark, monochromatic hierarchy of life. Rendered in bold, black relief against a crisp cream background, the composition stacks a fish, a frog, and two simplified human figures in a vertical column. The raw, textured grain of the woodblock remains visible in the ink transfer, lending a tactile weight to this early, minimalist composition.

By reducing the evolutionary scale in Untitled (Fish, Frog, Men) to primitive, blocky silhouettes, the work highlights the inherent absurdity of human self-importance relative to the animal kingdom. The stacked arrangement strips away any sense of narrative, presenting these distinct entities as equal components in a bizarre, deadpan diagram of existence. This physical stacking prioritises an egalitarian chaos over traditional biological order, perfectly capturing the artist's signature existential outlook.

David Shrigley

Nominated for the Turner Prize in 2013, Shrigley has secured an enduring position within British contemporary art through his public commissions, including the celebrated Fourth Plinth sculpture in Trafalgar Square. His distinctive approach to cultural commentary has been further recognised with elections to the Royal Academy of Arts and major solo retrospectives worldwide.

Translating his spontaneous, graphic drawings into more permanent mediums requires a careful balancing of raw gesture and mechanical precision. A David Shrigley print successfully preserves the urgent, immediate quality of his original ink illustrations while elevating the conceptual gravity of the work. This tension between casual rendering and formal presentation remains central to his global popularity.

Screenprint Process

While many collectors are familiar with the vibrant colour overlays of his modern screenprint editions, the artist's woodcuts represent a highly tactile alternative printmaking method. Printed in an extremely small edition of just 20 on heavy Velin d'Arches paper, this particular relief print bypasses the complex multi-layer screenprinting process in favour of a single, deeply pressed layer of rich black ink. The result is a sculptural debossing effect that stands in stark contrast to the flat ink deposits of a standard contemporary screenprint.

This hands-on relief process beautifully captures the deliberate imperfections of the carved woodblock, translating Shrigley's quick-witted lines into deeply textured, physical indentations. Published by Niels Borch Jensen, this rare David Shrigley limited edition print exemplifies how traditional printmaking methods can preserve the raw energy of drawing. The collaboration with master printers ensures that every subtle variation in the ink distribution is meticulously preserved across the tiny edition.

Collectability

Works from this early era are highly sought after by institutional curators and private collectors alike due to their minimalist execution and dark humour. This piece showcases the highly recognisable animal motifs that have come to define Shrigley’s most celebrated works, appealing to those who value his formative conceptual era.

Representing a major work from his celebrated 2005 institutional period, the piece remains a particularly desirable example of Shrigley’s graphic output. Given the incredibly small run of only 20 examples, this work enjoys continued collector interest on the secondary market, where early graphic editions of this scale are increasingly difficult to source.