The Sculpture  

The Rare sculpture is an exploration of topography, tension and taste, elevating and encircling the whisky decanter. Made by master craftsman John Galvin, it is surprisingly light, using blackened bronze for the outer rim, brass for the rods and Scottish oak for the central platform.

The sculpture is the result of an iterative design process. Sketches, technical drawings and prototype models reveal how Dobbin and his team experimented with form. His early sketches led to a balanced design based on three peaks, which he later stretched to create more verticality. As he explored the idea of tension, the mesh-like topographical lines of his early drawings became straight rods reaching between arches.

Beyond the landscape, Dobbin drew upon other Scottish touchpoints, such as the iconic Forth Bridge, which he had studied as an undergraduate in Edinburgh, as well as a suspension footbridge in Inverness, which he admired for its lightness. He thought about the tension created by the strings of a harp and also the way industrial looms draw down different coloured threads to create a weave.

Like the threads on a loom or the whisky’s bold and complex cask maturation process, the sculpture draws down all these influences and experiences into one compelling object.