Claire Barclay was born in Paisley, Scotland in 1968. Barclay’s sculptures and installations present investigations into the physical and symbolic nature of materials and the spaces they inhabit. Frequently employing traditional craft techniques and materials, alongside those associated more with industrial design and production, Barclay’s work consistently explores the language of image and object. Printmaking has become an increasingly important part of her practice and she was able to experiment further during a one-month residency in the print studio at The Banff Centre. During this time she researched craft traditions and materials connected to Banff’s local area. She was also able to visit the ethnological and First Nation collections held at the University of British Columbia’s Museum of Anthropology in Vancouver. The final series of nine relief prints, printed from laser cut wooden-blocks, were produced at Peacock Visual Arts with support from Glasgow Print Studio and Gray’s School of Art, Aberdeen.

Below another sky was the first collaborative programme developed by the Scottish Print Network, a partnership between Dundee Contemporary Arts, Edinburgh Printmakers, Glasgow Print Studio, Highland Print Studio, Inverness and Peacock Visual Arts, Aberdeen.

10 artists from Scotland and 10 from Commonwealth countries were invited to undertake research residencies during 2013 and 2014. Artists from Scotland travelled to Antigua, Baffin Bay, Bangladesh, Canada, India, New Zealand and Zambia; artists from Australia, Canada, India and Pakistan were on residency in Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness.

Each artist worked with one of the five print studios on the development of ambitious and innovative new work in print, taking full advantage of the excellent range of resources, equipment and expertise available through each organisation.

Below another sky takes its name from the poem ‘Travel’, published in 1865 by the Edinburgh-born author Robert Louis Stevenson.

http://belowanothersky.org/