We catch up with David Shillinglaw

Q: Hey David, it’s so good to catch up! We last spoke back in 2021, what have been some highlights since then that you’d like to share with us?

A: I built a studio in my garden… that was a big project and it has made a big difference in my life. Another highlight was my show last year titled ‘Only Human’… The exhibition was the result of a residency in Lisbon at Eritage Art Projects, a gallery I have shown at previously, and a space I love to work in. The show also launched a book and film of the same name… the book was published and hand made in Barcelona by my good friends at Jumbo Press, with contributing texts by Nikolaj Shultz and Max Porter! The film, produced by Voz Futura, documented the exhibition, from my studio in Margate and the residency and show in Lisbon. The film, the book and the exhibition all fed into each other and became much more than the sum of their parts.

Q: Your work is a philosophical exploration, venturing into the meaning of human existence and our connection to nature… it feels optimistic, which feels more vital now than ever. Would you say that these are rules you live your life by, do you spend a lot of time outdoors and adventuring?

A: I try to connect with nature all the time. I lean into optimism whenever possible. I consider play to be an important part of how I make art, and how I understand the world. My art practice and personal life are like a game I’m playing against myself, competing with myself to go further, try harder, fail better, learn more… the game has no end… it’s a game you win by playing… ‘if you’re playing you’ve already won’ is a kind of mantra I tell myself, being mindful of the process over the outcome, the journey is the destination! As for adventuring? Yes please, I am always looking for adventure, that can be inside my mind, in a sketchbook, or in a foreign city.

Q: Poetry and the written word are an intrinsic part of your practice, combined within your works from sketchbook to canvas. What in particular draws you to language as a part of your artistic expression?

A: Language for me is magic… words are magic spells, that’s why it’s called spelling! Words are a form of abstraction, symbols, lines and shapes that conjure images and meaning, words can unlock ideas and communicate things in a way images cannot. Words allow the viewer to see their own image inside their own head. On the other hand, words can be confusing especially if you don’t know the language… words can be noisy, too direct, can have multiple meanings, words can offend, trigger or alienate people. Words and symbols are powerful.

I think of them as colours on my palette or interesting shapes loaded with meaning. I am a big list maker, it’s how I manage my life. I enjoy lists as a way of communicating with myself and others, playing with rhythm, description and association, giving names to things that move around inside someone’s head and on the canvas, like a game of scrabble played out on a snakes and ladders board.

Q: Your sketchbook practice has always been an important part of your process and where you feel most free from pressure – they become a work of art in themselves. Is this where your collection of books and zines develop from?

A: I have always loved sketchbooks. Since childhood and all through school, a sketchbook has been a very happy place for me to escape, process, have fun. At university I started making my own books, which led me to make small black and white zines; little books I would print myself on a photocopier and stitch on a sewing machine and give out to people I met or post to people I loved.

Those zines developed and became bigger, more colourful, perfect, bound and published. I adore working in sketchbooks. I try to do it everyday, it is a way to figure things out, both in my art and my mental processing. There is something magical about a book, it is a private, intimate space, and never runs out of battery. You can share a book, but more than two people and it’s a bit crowded. Books feel very human to me, something analogue, tangible, archaic but still as powerful as ever.

Q: Does your daughter still like to collaborate in your sketchbooks?!

A: Yes she does, she loves it. Drawing with her is one of my favourite things to do. Drawing with someone on the same piece of paper or sketchbook is a lot of fun… it’s a visual conversation and a colourful dance.

Q: You’ve recently had a documentary made about you called ‘Only Human’. What can you tell us about the film and the project that you were working on during the filming process?

A: I was approached by Felipe Cantieri (director and editor of the film) and the film company Voz Futura, connected by my friends at Eritage Art Projects. We talked a lot remotely and developed the ideas as we went along, meeting up in Margate and Lisbon to document the process. A poem written for me by Max Porter became a central voice or narrative that guides the film, the words spoken by friends of mine Natasha O'Keeffe and Dylan Edwards… many elements of the film were unplanned, but made so much sense.

There was a lot of intuition and trust involved, favours and faith in the project… The film is a collaboration, and I think it became much more than just about me and my art. I love the outcome and feel it does a great job of revealing the process of how I make art without giving away the full recipe… if you explain a joke it’s not as funny. It was important to me that some of the mystery remain. The film is a celebration of uncertainty and confusion at a time when the world seems to be obsessed with power, strength and success. I consider art to be one of the last places where it is ok to be unsure, vulnerable and a safe place to fail… after all we are Only Human!

Q: Last time we spoke you told us that you took a leap of faith with your move to Margate, but really settled into the community and life by the sea. Are you still enjoying life in the creative coastal town?

A: Margate has a great spirit. I love it. People make an effort to be creative and supportive. It is a very small place, it feels like a village. It is easy to find out if someone’s doing a gig or an exhibition. I love the seasons here too, Margate has a lot of weather, big messy sky storms and mad burning sunsets. In the summer the place comes alive, it feels like a festival. The beach is a very special place for me, for rock pooling, swimming, drawing with chalk on the walls, maybe because I grew up in London, being by the ocean never gets boring for me, it always lifts my spirits to see the big sky horizon and feel the salty sea breezes.

Q: Throughout your 20 year career, you’ve held a strong rhythm of yearly exhibitions, both solo and group shows, as well as residencies and of course your amazing mural works. Would you say that planning and admin is a key part of your success, and the momentum this schedule creates for you?

A: It’s hard to navigate or understand a process or plan… I think being an artist is a bit like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde… one half of me plans, writes lists, invoices, tax returns, and interviews like this… and the other half of me is drawing, cutting, pasting, finding new shape and colour combinations, and painting on a dirty mattress…

Some things are planned a year ahead, other things are spontaneous, some take a month, others take an hour… some are the size of a whole building, others are on a tiny scrap of paper… It’s a strange job, in reality it is many different jobs and each job requires a slightly different attitude, approach or planning. I enjoy the movement between different jobs, they often overlap and inspire each other. I have learnt to make uncertainty my friend. I make things whether I’m being asked to or not. I am always busy, I give myself deadlines and problems to solve, and somehow the ends meet.

The job is a strange mix of personal and professional, time, energy and money. I try to flow with it, and take each day as it comes, living in the moment while making a five year plan.

Q: Once a body of work is done, at what point do the ideas begin to form for a new collection of work?

A: Some things have a definite end, the film or an exhibition for example, but the ideas keep flowing, for me the end of one piece is often the start of another… it’s an ongoing conversation with myself, an investigation, with materials, surfaces, tools, techniques, subjects and different contexts. I might finish a painting, then it ends up in the show and it sells, then the same painting is an album cover. There are many ways to measure or define the ending or completion of a work. I’ve learnt to not get too sad when the show is over or the mural gets painted over… but also not be surprised when the work comes back to life as something else. There isn’t always a clear end or start. Ideas overlap, projects start and pause, some never happen.

My sketchbook is usually the starting point for ideas, it is where I go for hints or signs if I’m lost… I *sometimes* enjoy being lost in my work, because when I am lost there is a chance I’ll discover something, something just around the corner which locates everything and you suddenly know where you are… that’s a great feeling… whether walking through a city or moving through a painting. I love when an idea for a painting, or a show, or just a good title can arrive when I’m least expecting it, in the shower or driving, or meditating… at a time when I can’t write it down, I have to really give the idea form in my head, the idea becomes a room in the museum of my mind… that room starts to get bigger, shelves go up, the idea starts to take shape. Ideas are mysterious things, in the words of Leonard Cohen, ‘If I knew where the good songs came from, I’d go there more often’.

Q: Your style is so impactful as mural work, you’ve travelled all over the world to paint these large scale paintings, often working with local communities to determine the outcome – including your recent commission in Cork. Within this mural, you quote the late Manchán Magan, who dedicated his life to researching and documenting Irish language and folklore, and what they teach us about looking after our natural world. Is there a certain joy in working on this type of project?

A: One of my favourite recent projects was painting the mural at The White Horse Pub for The Ballincollig Winter Music Festival. It was my second visit to Cork, after last year working on artworks for the Sounds of a Safe Harbour Festival. I’ve had the best times there with some of the most magical people I’ve ever met. The attitude towards the natural world and the incredible language and folklore around nature is so inspiring to me. I am such a fan of Manchán Magan, I discovered him years ago via the Blindboy podcast. It was an honour to be making this mural in line with Imbolc and St. Bridget’s day, at such a historic venue and communal meeting place.

The mural became an emotional map of the town and its history… many people who passed by gave me ideas and things to include or consider. The process felt like I was painting a very large canvas and all these people were passing through my studio. It is not always easy to organise getting input from people to a mural, but when it happens naturally with people who live or work or play in that space it feels very satisfying, a feedback loop and cosmic collaboration with the space, place and people.