Like the poet Ivor Cutler, Shrigley finds humour in flat depictions of the inconsequential, the unavailing and the bizarre - although he is far fonder than Cutler of violent or otherwise disquieting subject matter. Shrigley's work has two of the characteristics often encountered in outsider art - an odd viewpoint, and (in some of his work) very limited technique. His freehand line is often weak, which jars with his frequent use of a ruler; his forms are often very crude; and annotations in his drawings are poorly executed and frequently contain crossings-out. However, in authentic outsider art the artist has no choice but to produce work in his or her own way, even if that work is freakish in content and inept in execution. It is likely that Shrigley has chosen his style and range of subject matter for comic effect.

Shrigley is a graduate of the Environmental Art course at the Glasgow School of Art. He is the author of several books and has directed the video for Blur's 'Good Song'. His work is exhibited all over the world. From 2005 he has contributed a cartoon for The Guardian's Weekend magazine every Saturday. He is represented in Paris by the Yvon Lambert Gallery.