Takes on Thomson

29 April 2017

Recently the Alexander 'Greek' Thomson Society got in touch to ask if I'd submit a piece for their 'Takes on Thomson' 2017 project, to mark the bicentenary year of the architect’s birth. 

For the last year, the society has been making plans for a yearlong celebration of the life and work of Alexander Thomson in Glasgow. As 2017 marks the bicentenary year of the architect’s birth, they hope to engage people in an appreciation and discussion of his buildings, surviving and lost, and to commemorate the different ways people experience and acknowledge Thomson’s architecture.

I was delighted to be asked to participate - not only to celebrate and be inspired by this visionary architect - but for more personal reasons. I was brought up in 1 Moray Place, Strathbungo, a house which Thomson built and lived in himself. My family moved to Glasgow from London when I was young (my dad Gavin Stamp taught history of architecture at the Mackintosh School at the Glasgow School of Art, hence the move). He founded the Thomson Society in 1991, and it's been very much a large part of my upbringing.

I have always been drawn to the linear, decorative elements to Thomson's work and chose to focus on these for my submission. I designed a pair of rings which isolated two motifs which are widely recognisable and used in his work and gave them a different context. 

These pieces are my first venture into 3D printing, which allowed me to achieve concise and crisp lines from the process. Each ring is cast in metallic plastic, making them lightweight, flexible yet durable.

These limited edition rings are available in the online shop for the duration of the project. 

You can follow the rest of the 'Takes on Thomson' 2017 project on the Thomson Society's website. The full project will be exhibited and catalogued in 2018.