David Shrigley rescues 10-tonne rope archive from across the UK
David Shirley turns an old idiom into a full-scale installation at Stephen Friedman Gallery this winter, filling 5–6 Cork Street in London with 10 tonnes of reclaimed rope and a glowing four-part neon. Exhibition of Old Rope brings together months of scavenging across the UK, from maritime scrapyards to climbing schools and offshore wind farms, as the British artist questions the worth of discarded materials and the value systems of the art world itself. The show marks Shrigley’s ninth solo exhibition with the gallery and almost three decades of collaboration.
Shrigley roots the work in a simple phrase. ‘This exhibition started with an idiom. Old rope has no use. It’s also hard to recycle, so there’s a lot of it lying around. I thought: what if I turn that into a literal exhibition of old rope. And then say, yes, this is art, and yes, you can buy it for £1 million,’ he says. His signature wit cuts through as he expands: ‘The work exists because I’m interested in the value people place on art, and the idiom gave me an excuse to explore that. I think £1 million is a fair price, partly because of the idea and partly because it is quite a lot of rope.’
images courtesy of Stephen Friedman Gallery
‘old rope has no use’, until it does
The artwork is built from rope originally destined for landfill, thick mooring lines from cruise ships, slim marker-buoy cords, longlines, crab and lobster pot ropes, plus lengths salvaged from tree surgeons, scaffolders, window cleaners, and offshore infrastructure, gathered by Shrigley himself along the UK shorelines. Each section was cleaned and treated, a crucial step for rope recovered from the sea, which typically arrives heavy with salt, algae, and embedded debris.
The UK’s centuries-old rope-making tradition underpins the installation, from hemp and jute lines associated with the Royal Navy to the synthetic polyester and nylon ropes common today. These modern materials complicate recycling efforts and contribute to mounting marine waste, a context that quietly shadows the mounds of coiled fiber filling the gallery.
Vast coils fill the space in layered arrangements that reveal age, wear, color, and past labor: almost-new synthetic lines sit beside sun-faded fishermen’s rope, frayed climbing loops, and weather-beaten lengths twisted by years of exposure.
towering mound of reclaimed maritime and industrial rope forms the central installation
a bright neon and the business of art
Anchoring the street-facing window is a large-scale, four-part neon reading the exhibition’s title in Shrigley’s unmistakable hand. Its commercial sign-like aesthetic, bright orange, blunt, and eye-catching, nods to advertising while undermining the seriousness typically associated with gallery signage.
Exhibition of Old Rope extends the themes Shrigley explores across installations, sculptures, and public works throughout his career, from the playful economies of his Tennis Ball Exchange to the irreverent monumentality of Really Good for the Fourth Plinth. Across these projects, trade, value, and the circulation of objects often appear in unexpected, participatory, or absurd forms.
His newest exhibition continues this trajectory with a tighter conceptual grip: an idiom literalized, a waste stream rerouted, and a question about value placed squarely at the center. Rope, once functional, then discarded, now becomes a record of labor, an environmental reminder, and an interesting protagonist.
coiled ropes piled into a sculptural mass, revealing varied textures, gauges, and degrees of wear
the installation spills outward in a cascade of intertwined materials
a mound built from used rope in shifting tones
the British artist reimagines the value of discarded materials and the value systems of the art world
the show marks Shrigley’s ninth solo exhibition with the gallery
Exhibition of Old Rope brings together months of scavenging across the UK
gathered by Shrigley himself along the UK shorelines
vast coils fill the space in layered arrangements
almost-new synthetic lines sit beside sun-faded fishermen’s rope
weather-beaten lengths twisted by years of exposure
Exhibition of Old Rope extends the themes Shrigley explores
a large-scale, four-part neon anchors the street-facing window
its commercial sign-like aesthetic nods to advertising
project info:
name: Exhibition of Old Rope
artist: David Shrigley | @DavidShrigley
location: Stephen Friedman Gallery | @stephenfriedmangallery, 5–6 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LQ
dates: November 14th – December 20th 2025
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