Clay AD: everything is borrowed

everything is borrowed is a solo exhibition by Clay AD. They will present a new sculpture installation and a five channel sound piece in collaboration with the artist Hang Linton.

The title of the show arrived to AD during meditation where they found themselves on the top of a mountain; there they saw a crow sitting on top of a huge pile of stuff - the cosmic junkyard. The crow was holding something shiny in her beak. After watching one another for a long moment the crow said “everything is borrowed”. She flew away holding the object which flashed in the light.

This work is a prayer on grief, faith and the magic of rot. AD uses the spiritual themes of their childhood -- heaven, hell, the devil, the scapegoat, eden, etc. as a beginning point to reflect on how these stories have shaped binaries of good and evil, purity and sin which have been used to morally justify control, violence, and exclusion. In response the exhibition turns to gnostic texts, ancient trees, pre-Christian stories, personal experience, and gay culture to take an inventory of belief. Rather than rejecting spiritual systems outright, everything is borrowed asks what might be reimagined or salvaged from their remains. It is an invitation to rest in contradiction, to make meaning without moral clarity, and to build new cosmologies from what we inherit, reshape, and pass on.

Opening

Join us for an opening on Friday 6 June, 7pm - 9pm.

Artist Bio

Clay AD is an interdisciplinary artist in Glasgow using sculpture, text, sound and movement. Born in the States, they have lived in Glasgow, Scotland for the last four years. They are a member of Radical Bodyworkers Scotland and have been learning at GalGael for the last year, a community woodshop and organizing space in Govan whose spirit informs their sculptural practice. everything is borrowed is their first solo show in the UK.

Collaboration Credits:

Hang Linton - sound design & production, @hang_linton
Belladonna Paloma - exhibition text and performance
Amy Lawrence - dramaturgical support
Ise Gross - Carpentry advisor and assistance, @ise.gross
Alx Velozo - Access consultation

Thanks to:

CCA, David Dale Studio and Galleries, Galgael, and Creative Scotland.

Plain text exhibition description

‘everything is borrowed’ is an art show by Clay AD. It also includes a five-channel sound piece. Clay made the sound piece with artist Hang Linton.

The title came to Clay during meditation. In the vision they were on top of a mountain. A crow was sitting on a large pile of objects. The crow held something shiny in her beak. Clay and the crow looked at each other for a long time. Then the crow said, “everything is borrowed.” She flew away with the shiny object. The object flashed in the light.

The show looks at biblical stories, like heaven, hell, angels, the devil, and the scapegoat. These stories have been used to say who is “good” or “bad.” They have also been used to harm people and keep them under control. Clay’s artwork asks questions about these stories and how they still affect us today.

Clay also uses ideas from other places—like ancient texts, nature, old traditions from before Christianity, and queer culture. Their work mixes belief and doubt, seriousness and play. The show asks: Can we take parts of old stories about belief and use them to build new ones?