Alistair Byars’ Offerings presents a body of work dedicated to the artist’s father, who passed away in 2019. Created over lockdown, Offerings documents his thinking across this time of isolation. Alistair uses the intersecting mediums of furniture and sculpture to produce strong forms that are simultaneously familiar and unique.
Above all else, the driving inspiration for Alistair’s work is a love of music and soundscapes. Sound acts as a catalyst for the configuration of abstract environments in the mind. Over time, these environments set the scene in which the shapes and volumes of his work are realised – almost as if props from a film no one else can see. Alistair’s work often includes hand applied materials and finishes that show the markings of a maker and document a labour of love, across many months. Texture is a key ingredient – rough/smooth, natural/artificial – that invites the onlooker in, to study the work with both eye and hand.
Sonic Apothecary, Rosey Chan’s album of music therapy, accompanied the artist through his realisation of the works on show. With thanks to Rosey Chan, visitors to the exhibition will be invited to listen to the album.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Born in 1997, Alistair works and lives between Edinburgh and Glasgow, the city he grew up in. He completed his Master’s, with First Class Honours, in Product Design Engineering from Glasgow University & School of Art in 2020. Alistair has previously interned with London based design studio Faye Toogood and is currently interning at Groves-Raines Architects Studios, Edinburgh.
