David Shrigley: Before the Lawn Takes its Revenge…

"Like most Californians, I come from someplace else and was gathered to the purpose of California like a metal-eating flower gathers the sunshine, the rain, and then to the freeway beckons its petals and lets the cars drive in, millions of cars into but a single flower, the scent choked with congestion and room for millions more." – Richard Brautigan, 'Revenge of the Lawn', Stories, 1962-1970

‘Before the Lawn Takes its Revenge…’ at Collection Lambert, Avignon features one hundred black and white drawings by David Shrigley, produced in 2011 for an exhibition at Yvon Lambert, Paris. These drawings, along with recent, more colourful works pay homage to nature and investigate how we find our place in the world.

The presentation takes its title from a collection of 62 short stories written by the American author Richard Brautigan from 1962 to 1970. Similarly to Shrigley’s extended worlds and its antiheroes, the works playfully delve into the realms of chaos and absurdity. Like most of Brautigan's works, the stories are whimsical, simply themed, and often surreal.