Untitled 1996

This Untitled work is composed of text, written by hand in capital letters on a piece of A4 lined paper torn from a pad. The text comprises two sentences written over two lines and repeated seventeen times so that it fills the page. It reads: ‘Santa Claus is not evil. There is no need to defend myself against him’. The repetition of the lines has a double character. It recalls the old fashioned practice of punishing school children by setting them the task of ‘doing lines’ – writing the same line of text over and over again a large number of times to drive its message home in the unfortunate pupil’s head. The ruled lines on the page – characteristic of school books – emphasise this. But instead of affirming that the author should not do something viewed by school teachers as transgressive and anti-social (as ‘lines’ normally do), Shrigley’s text would appear to testify to a neurosis. Evoking a fictional personality (the author) so troubled by his fear of a parental fantasy figure (Santa Claus) that he has to write lines to counter his delusion with reassurance, it suggests a mantra chanted with the purpose of self-healing. Whether the lines are a punishment by a fictional second party or a private personal ritual is entirely ambiguous. Either possible scenario combines comedy with pathos. The effect of a neurosis is heightened when it becomes apparent (it is not noticeable at a first glance) that the artist ruled pencil lines over the lines printed on the paper.