Untitled study

The ceiling panels for Cleish Castle, Kinross, were commissioned in 1971 by the owner, architect Michael Spens, who was also a friend of Paolozzi. The work produced in low relief in metallized GRP(glass reinforced plastic) from plywood models represented something of a turning point for Paolozzzi, who had not worked in relief before. However, his fascination with the industrial and mechanical has always been fundamental to his work, and comes across in the imagery seen here which suggests both the circuit board and the comic (some of the geometry has a distinctly anthropomorphic feel, and in one or two places comic figures actually appear). There is also the sense of an architectural model, seen from above ( which in turn, because the panels were installed on the ceiling, is seen from 'below'). He produced a huge number of drawings related to the project, which were evidently very important within the overall process of bringing the panels to completion. The panels were later installed in The Dean Gallery, part of the National Gallery of Modern Art in Edinburgh.