Creative work inspired by Alasdair Gray

Welcome to our creative collaboration of projects and personal perspectives inspired by Alasdair Gray.

A Gray Space is a reanimation of Alasdair Gray in a digital body of new work, created by and for all of us. As eclectic and unexpected as Alasdair himself, we embrace all forms of creativity from tattoos and AI art to literary translation and disability theatre. Enter, explore and be inspired.
— Kat, Anita & Tracy

Audio transcript:

Mouth! It’s the talky bit up front. This website is inspired by Alasdair Gray’s belief that creativity connects and makes people and things better. It’s not all about him, though. It’s about new work, tasty ideas, a live community. It’s made by and for curious people like you. You don’t have to know Alasdair’s work to enjoy the flavour. If you want to expand how you think, meet people or start something… Welcome to our Gray Space.

Who is Alasdair Gray?

Alasdair Gray was a visionary Scottish artist and writer famous for his bold, genre-blending novels and distinctive visual style. Best known for his novels Lanark and Poor Things, Alasdair’s powerfully imaginative and personal work reshaped Scottish literature - and he was also Kat and Tracy’s Uncle.

So who is Alasdair Gray and what does he mean to us?

Alasdair Gray in his own words…

”I’ve always felt that stories and pictures were a way of keeping people I knew alive and as they were. The portraits for instance, that show people young and middle aged long after they’re dead! And keep them remembered long after they’re forgotten, I hope!”

Read audio transcript

Alasdair’s books are often autobiographical…

Aspects of Alasdair’s life found their way into many of his books, in particular Lanark which is strongly autobiographical.

Read the reviews and personal stories behind some of Alasdair’s best known books:

Lanark

A personal tragedy...?

Poor Things

Monstrously good fun...?

1982 Janine

Alasdair's best novel...?

Something Leather

Feminism and fetishism...?

Explore Alasdair Gray’s creative space…

We’re excited to share our interactive experience where you can find out more about Alasdair’s last home and explore his creative space.

To find out what made Alasdair’s home so special and explore it for yourself…

Visit A Gray's place

Our Gray Space

Creative ideas, projects and personal perspectives inspired by Alasdair Gray.

Head is our Gray matter - what we’re thinking

Discover Iain Clark's inspiring images of Alasdair in his natural habitat.

See what’s in our head

Heart is our Gray DNA - what we’re feeling

Explore how friends, fans and family describe Alasdair Gray in 3 words.

Find our beating heart

Hands is our Gray projects - what we’re doing

Browse our Inked art gallery of Alasdair Gray inspired tattoos.

Join hands with us

Red emblematic Alasdair Gray drawing of heart with outspread wings

Our Gray DNA…

What does it mean to be Gray? What does Alasdair Gray mean to us?

Shaped by voices from all walks of creative life - colleagues, collaborators, friends, family and other artistic connections - each personal perspective adds to our understanding of Alasdair Gray’s DNA.

Explore more…

Poor Rabbits? An interactive tale…

A grass-roots view of godlike creatures and Victorian medical experimentation told by the hapless Lagomorphs at the heart of Alasdair Gray’s Poor Things.

Did God do a bad thing?

Explore our interactive story and decide for yourself…

A young white woman with black hair stares directly at us holding our gaze. She has bold strokes of blue and purple colour over each eye and red on her lips, like badly applied make up. The coloured eyes and lips each show a different mans image.

Spotlight on Poor Things

Yorgos Lanthimos’s extraordinary adaptation of Poor Things has captured everyone’s imagination – including ours!

Tony McNamara tells us how he created the screenplay of Alasdair’s ‘wild, unique and amazing story’ in Adapting Poor Things.

Find out why we think Alasdair Gray + Yorgos Lanthimos is a match made in heaven.

Enjoy more personal perspectives on Poor Things and other novels in Poor Things: Monstrously good fun.

Find out how Poor Things measures up as a young adult novel in the hilarious and insightful Poor Wee Things.