I'm Sorry but I Can't Promise it Won't Happen Again

About This Work

David Shrigley's print "I'm Sorry but I Can't Promise it Won't Happen Again" from 2021 is an exemplary piece of his distinctive artistic practice, characterized by its witty yet poignant reflections on the human condition. Shrigley, born in Macclesfield in 1968, is a versatile artist whose repertoire spans drawing, sculpture, animation, and printmaking. A graduate of Glasgow School of Art, where he studied environmental art, Shrigley expertly channels deadpan comedy through his deliberately crude line drawings and pithy captions. In "I'm Sorry but I Can't Promise it Won't Happen Again," Shrigley’s characteristically blunt visual language is fully realized. The simplicity of his draftsmanship—marked by wobbly figures and cartoonish forms—is deceptive, concealing complex layers of meaning beneath its seemingly rudimentary surface. His work often reveals the banalities and anxieties of everyday life, presented as if scribbled absentmindedly in the margins of a notebook. The piece invites viewers to grapple with the nature of error and human foibles, articulated through the familiar, everyman voice that permeates his art. Shrigley's approach to printmaking in this piece is a testament to his ability to blend media while maintaining the hallmark features of his artistic voice. The combined effect of crude illustration and offhand text captures an essence of absurdity mixed with an underlying sadness—hallmarks of Shrigley's oeuvre. His prints share the same ethos as his public installations, such as 'Really Good' (2016) and 'Life Model' (2012), where humor meets existential pondering in grandiose installations. Within the context of Shrigley's broader body of work, "I'm Sorry but I Can't Promise it Won't Happen Again" exemplifies his ability to communicate profound truths through simplicity and satire. This piece adds to the Zebra One Gallery collection a glimpse into Shrigley's world, where laughter is often the precursor to deeper reflection.

About the Artist

David John Shrigley (born 17 September 1968) is a British visual artist. He lived and worked in Glasgow, Scotland for 27 years before moving to Brighton, England in 2015. Shrigley first came to prominence in the 1990s for his distinct line drawings, which often deal with witty, surreal and darkly h...

Zebra One Gallery

Contemporary Art • Hampstead, London

Established 1976 • 50 years of excellence in contemporary art • Professional authentication and provenance research