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I Am The Jug You Are The Glass (Book & Linocut)

'I Am The Jug You Are The Glass' pairs David Shrigley's 2023 Shrig Shop book, an edition of 5,000, with a linocut that was never sold on its own. The hardback gathers more than 300 of his drawings. The linocut, 'I Wrote a Book But No One Read It', is signed and numbered in an edition of 100, and copies were hidden inside books sold online.

All I Am The Jug You Are The Glass (Book & Linocut) Works By David Shrigley (2)

Significance & Analysis

This was the first book Shrig Shop published itself, and Shrigley used its release to turn a print into a prize: the only way to get the linocut was to buy the book and be lucky.

From shop to publisher

Shrig Shop opened its doors in Copenhagen on 10 April 2021, a venture Shrigley started with his gallerist Nicolai Wallner to sell his posters, clothing and editions. Almost exactly two years later, in April 2023, it released this book as its first self-published title.

The drawings date from the five years to 2022 and are printed in black and white. The book was planned as an edition rather than a trade title, with a fixed run, never to be reprinted. That sets it apart from 'Get Your Shit Together', a collection of more than 200 works issued by the US publisher Chronicle Chroma a few months earlier, in late 2022.

A print you could not buy

The linocut was printed in black from a carved lino block, at a size small enough to slip inside the book. Its title reads as a deadpan joke about the very book it was packed in. Shrigley was plain about it: the prints "won't ever be for sale", and luck was the only way to get one.

The first 1,000 copies of the book sold out, and more copies went on sale in June 2023. That September Shrigley signed books at a Copenhagen event, and a drawing competition offered signed copies as prizes. Because the linocut was never offered for sale, every copy that changes hands does so on the secondary market.

What Are the Edition Details for the Book and the Linocut?

The book is a hardback of 320 pages, measuring 15.5 x 21 x 4 cm and weighing about 1 kg. It was printed in Denmark (ISBN 978-87-973647-0-3). The linocut, published as 'Untitled (I Wrote A Book But No One Read It)', measures 14 x 19.5 cm. Alongside the edition of 100, there are 20 artist's proofs.

Does Every Copy of the Book Include the Linocut?

No. The 100 prints went at random into the first 1,000 copies sold through the Shrig Shop webshop, so roughly one book in ten from that first run held a print. Copies bought in the Copenhagen shop were not part of the giveaway. Once all 100 prints had been allocated, the shop shipped later copies without one, so a copy of the book on its own does not mean a print is missing.

When Was I Am The Jug You Are The Glass Released?

On 14 April 2023, at 12pm CEST on the Shrig Shop webshop, although the book carries a 2022 copyright line and the linocut is dated 2022. Pre-ordered copies were sent out at the end of May 2023.