We had the pleasure of heading to the East End of Glasgow to spend our Sunday morning with Glasgow born painter, Hannah Mary Gibson. Hannah's studio is situated in Crownpoint Studios, which was originally a carpet factory for James Templeton & Co, known for it's industrial spirit, something that is still present today housing many forms of creatives.
Hannah:
I studied Painting at Gray’s School of Art and have been living in Glasgow since, which is where I’m originally from. I also spent years in Inverness and Aberdeen, and I realise more over time that those places have left a strong impression on me that shows up in the work. The shift from the Highlands to the busy Central Belt, and the interplay between built environment and expansive landscapes, it has informed my sense of space and rhythm.
The work I have in Drosten forms a larger body of research and making developed during my postgraduate degree at Glasgow School of Art, which I completed this year. Throughout the course, I focused on exploring the object-hood of painting, treating painting not only as a surface, but as a constructed form where structure, material and content are interdependent.
My practice brings together fabric dyeing, frame construction and varying degrees of textile transparency to explore the possibilities of layering. These layers act as a way of translating overlapping histories and shifting temporalities.
I’m particularly drawn to archaeological landscapes across Scotland, with Neolithic dwellings becoming a recurring starting point in my research. The aerial documentation of these sites resonates with how I think about construction: open, fragmented structures that invite the viewer to imagine, complete or project onto them. This sense of partiality, of something both revealed and concealed, mirrors how I approach making, almost like an act of excavation.
While my practice increasingly occupies a sculptural space, painting and drawing in a more traditional sense remain central. They form a foundation that informs the spatial and constructed elements of the work, and in turn the sculptural processes feed back into how I build and understand images. Layering, whether visual, material or conceptual, sits at the core of this exchange.
It has been really lovely to see the connections between the makers and artists brought together in Drosten. Although we work in different fields, there is a shared sensitivity to materials that creates a sense of coherence, warmth and appreciation for materiality and craftsmanship throughout the store.
I’ve just been offered a residency with the Royal Drawing School in the new year, so hopefully lots of new work to come.
@hangibson
hannahmarygibson.cargo.site
Hannah wears:
TEKLA Pyjama Pant in Coffee
TEKLA Long Sleeve Pyjama Shirt in Hopper Stripes
Photography by Alex James-Aylin