A Gray’s place

5 Oct

Written By Tracy

After Alasdair Gray died his flat was dismantled and sold. But before that happened it was recorded digitally with the aim of recreating it online.

Kat explains why it felt important to preserve Alasdair’s flat and share it with other people. But first, have a look around and explore it for yourself…

Explore A Gray’s place

This is an interactive experience where you can find out more about Alasdair’s last home and explore his creative space for yourself. Play the video to start!

Many people made A Gray’s place possible. So keep reading to find out more about the people who helped us record Alasdair’s home. For this video experience we’re particularly indebted to Fiona Watson for her beautiful photographs, Stornaway.io for their brilliant interactive storytelling software and Ryan Tympany for creating the 360 videos.

Explore A Gray’s place in an alternative format if the interactive version doesn’t work for you: Accessible version with video transcripts and music credits.

A machine for creating

Preserving Alasdair’s last home felt important because like Alasdair himself, A Gray’s place was always a machine for creating. Alasdair lived and worked in the same space throughout his life. And always went to bed with pens and paper immediately to hand. So that as soon as he woke up he could start to record, edit and expand the multiple ideas and creative conversations that ran through his mind.

Alasdair Gray’s art materials stored in range of old tin cans, jars and mugs

Alasdair Gray’s shabby wooden work desk covered in writing materials and jotters surrounded by bookshelves and miscellaneous objects

Alasdair Gray’s homemade work desk and lightbox set into wall of bookshelves with paintings above

When Alasdair moved in, his work moved in too. Along with his friends, collaborators, assistants, acquaintance and visitors. Looking around his space was like looking around his mind. Full of words, pictures, pens, paints, people, ideas, ephemera, notes, doodles and Tippex (liquid paper).

Pixilated digital image of Alasdair Gray’s bedroom a large white oldfashioned room with walls and tables covered in paintings and books — Alasdair’s backroom was also his bedroom and studio where he slept surrounded by his art and books

An unlocked door

Alasdair’s place was important to him but it was often precarious. He never owned his own home. And when he had more than one room, lodgers came and went constantly. Invited in to help pay the rent but often staying long after it was evident they never would.

All sorts of people turned up at Alasdair’s place. From all sorts of places. For all sorts of reasons. And at all sorts of times. When he was young the locks on his door were broken. And when he was older he gave out keys as freely as his telephone number.

Alasdair Gray as a young white man sitting up in bed with wooden owl, clock, books and metal portrait bust on shelf above his head

Alasdair Gray as a young white man sitting in sparsely furnished room with wall of books, paintings and old-fashioned electric fire

Alasdair Gray as a kindly looking middle aged white man sitting holding his novel Lanark in shabby room with tools, books and brushes around him

Alasdair Gray as a scruffy middle-aged white many holding a bowl and striking a pose in very shabby old-fashioned kitchen

A personal project

After Alasdair died we had to clear his flat. It was the most secure and comfortable home he ever lived in, but it was still gifted and temporary. Owned by his second wife and reverting to her family after his death.

Before it disappeared physically, I wanted to record it digitally. In the hope that we could rebuild it online. So Alasdair’s creative spirit could continue to live there. And all sorts of people from all sorts of places could drop in, meet up and be inspired.

Doing this felt important because Alasdair’s home was a special place for me, as well as for him. A creative space and place of refuge that I could turn up to at any time and with anybody. A place that was simultaneously protective and exciting. And where I could always stay for as long as I wanted or needed to.

Flattened 360 image of Alasdair Gray’s large old-fashioned front room with red ceiling and cream walls covered in books and pictures — 360 image of Alasdair’s front room and workspace with the more homey touches provided by his wife Morag

A rapid response

Stuart Jeffrey at Glasgow School of Art came to the rescue and organised an emergency digital recording before Alasdair’s home was dismantled. While some of Alasdair’s many friends and collaborators helped me select examples of his work to display around the flat.

Alasdair’s long-time creative collaborator Nichol Wheatley offered invaluable input and loaned some additional artworks. Alasdair’s assistant Stef Gardiner helped me set everything up for the recording. And the Glasgow Print Studio, Alasdair’s publishers Canongate and his Gallerist Sorcha Dallas also advised on what to feature.

The recording had to take place over a single Friday because Sorcha, who was organising the removal and safe storage of Alasdair’s belongings, had to start clearing the flat on Monday. And while some things were sold, all Alasdair’s remaining papers and manuscripts are now part of the Alasdair Gray archive at the National Library of Scotland. And a number of Alasdair’s personal possessions together with his remaining visual works have formed the basis of The Alasdair Gray Archive at The Whisky Bond.

A work in progress

A Gray Space originated in our desire to preserve and share Alasdair’s final home and creative space online, so that everyone everywhere could visit it and be inspired. We began this journey in January 2020, immediately after Alasdair’s death. But as an unfunded personal project, we’re entirely dependent on our own resources and the support and generosity of other people. So it’s taken 3 years of investigation, experimentation, re-plans and helping hands to finally create an interactive experience we’re happy with. And that we believe captures something of the spirit of A Gray’s place.

But the story doesn’t end here. We’ve always wanted to create a truly immersive web VR experience. And xR designer Ryan Tympany is currently doing amazing things with the pointcloud and photogrammetry datasets, that we’re looking forward sharing when they’re ready. So while it’s still an ongoing reconstruction project, the future of A Gray’s place is looking bright at last!

Gaussian Splatting image of Alasdair Gray’s large front room lined with books and paintings. A central chest covered in artists paints and brushes stands in front of a bay window and the edges of the image fracture into swirls and shards of colour. — Gaussian Splatting rendering of Alasdair’s living room

Dark pixelated image of Alasdair Gray's living room with fireplace and paintings in the background. Two objects are visible, a table with black, red and white drawings on it and a vibrant painting of a naked woman emerging from a lake. — Pointcloud data of Alasdair’s living room in Spatial

Find out more about our immersive experiments and the people who have helped us in Hands

Explore more…

Alasdair Gray a middle-aged white man with dishevelled hair and glasses poses dramatically in front of an easel with a painting and others in the background. He’s wearing a bright red shirt and tweed waistcoat and holds 2 old mugs and a milk carton.

Who is Alasdair Gray?

Alasdair Gray is often described as a genius and regularly compared to the earlier writer and artist William Blake.

Alasdair Gray drawing of bearded monkey-like man with blinking eyes and glasses, squatting and typing on laptop connected to a mouse and printer.

Alasdair Gray is Digit Al

Alasdair Gray is generally seen as an inherently analogue creator but is that really the whole story?

External links…

FionaWatson.co.uk - enjoy Fiona Watson’s artworks

Stornaway.io - discover Stornaway’s amazing software

NicholWheatley.com – explore Nichol Wheatley’s art

@StefGardinerArt - find Stef Gardiner on Instagram

GSA Heritage Visualisation - our data capture heros

Canongate.co.uk – Alasdair’s long-time publishers

Glasgow Print Studio - for prints of Alasdair’s art

Alasdair Gray Archive at the National Library of Scotland – manuscripts and written work

The Alasdair Gray Archive - personal possessions and visual materials

Tracy