Re-inSpired by the Drawing Threads Research Cluster at the Glasgow School of Art

Artist list

Marianne Anderson, Anita Sarkezi and Yitong Zhang, Leigh Bagley, Stephen Bottomley, Elaine Bremner and Susan Telford, Anna Gordon, Andrew Lamb, Kim McNeil, Michael Pell

As part of Extension, the gallery is delighted to present work made by members of the Drawing Threads research cluster at Glasgow School of Art as a material response to Clarke’s 1964 work ‘Crown of Thorns’ St Michael’s, Linlithgow.

Presented are designs by eleven artists, made from donated sheets of the 1960s anodised Aluminium metal cladding removed from the sculptural spire of St Michael’s Church, Linlithgow in Scotland, during its renovation in 2024.

The spire, known as the ‘Crown of Thorns’, was designed in 1964 by the British artist Geoffrey Clarke.  The original gold coloured aluminium cladding recovered from the ‘Cross of Thorns’ spent over sixty years exposed to the Scottish elements and was steadily weathered, resulting in a change of patina, surface and colour. The provenance of the site’s material, history, and heritage has offered rich and fertile territory to explore diverse ideas, including value, sustainability and sense of place.

>> Exhibition Catalogue


Previous venues:

• The Exhibition was previewed in Munich during International Jewellery Week in March 2025 at the Museum Mineralogia München, 13-16 March 2025.
• The Exhibition returned to Scotland to be shown in Linlithgow at St Michael’s church from March 29th to April 13th 2025.

These dates included ‘Earth Day’ on April 22nd 2025, when worldwide consideration of environmental and sustainability issues was encouraged, including recycling as a global concern.  In celebrating this day, we partnered with the Goethe-Institut Glasgow, the Institut Français Écosse, and ClimateCulture on events that accompanied their Cultures of Action that showcased the essential role of culture in addressing sustainability challenges through film, music, performance, and events through a programme of events over an Earth Month schedule. 

• The Extension exhibition opens at the Pangolin Gallery in London from September 10th Nov 1st 2025, the exhibition is of Geoffrey Clarke’s works from the golden age of British sculpture that demonstrate the experimentation of new materials and technologies in his creative practice. The work by the Drawing Threads Cluster of GSA staff and researchers will be shown alongside a special focus on Clarke’s prints.

Opening Times: Wednesday - Saturday, 10:00 - 18:00. Mondays & Tuesdays by appointment.