Renowned UK sculptor unveils galaxy-inspired whisky decanter for Royal Salute

Conrad Shawcross examines a disc from one of his Time Chamber bottles for Royal Salute in this undated photo. Courtesy of Pernod Ricard Korea

Time Chamber by Conrad Shawcross / Courtesy of Pernod Ricard Korea

Renowned British sculptor Conrad Shawcross unveiled a thought-provoking art piece created in his latest collaboration with the global premium whisky brand Royal Salute, according to Pernod Ricard Korea, a Korean arm of global wine and spirit distributor, Wednesday.

Shawcross, the youngest living member of the Royal Academy of Arts in London, known for his mechanical sculptures rooted in philosophical and scientific concepts, has handcrafted 21 limited-edition Time Chamber bottles for the spirit brand. Pernod Ricard Korea unveiled one of these bottles at the Korea International Art Fair (KIAF) Seoul, held at The Platz inside COEX from Wednesday to Sunday.

The bottle, evoking the infinite star system and the flow of time, is the second piece from The Art of Wonder, a project Royal Salute launched in 2022 to collaborate with visionary British artists on innovative designs for its Scotch whiskies. Inspired by the maturation of aged whisky and the essence of time, the 47-year-old artist depicted galactic space with an imposing glass disc and an arrow-shaped crystal vector of time that pierces the disc and functions as a decanter.

Inside the Time Chamber is Royal Salute’s Scotch whisky, aged over 53 years, from Strathisla Distillery in Scotland, making it the oldest among the brand’s whiskies. Crafted by the brand’s Master Blender, Sandy Hyslop, the whisky’s aging dates back to Queen Elizabeth II’s 1953 coronation.

Shawcross said that the primary focus of this project is on how time influences change.

“There’s 53 years that the whisky will remain in cask. The whisky is essentially being changed by time. There are chemical reactions with the wood, with the air, with everything that’s happening within those casks,” he said.

According to Shawcross, the varying textures and colors of each of the 21 limited-edition Time Chamber bottles represent the passage of time and its distinct effects on different things.

“Depending on how fast the blower spins the discs, there are different waves, different ripples and different effects on the surface, what I’d call aberrations. These are usually the things that glass blowers will try and avoid,” Shawcross said.

“But to me, they became very akin to the formation of early star systems or galaxies or black holes. The bottle itself is this vessel which contains this very precious whisky which is a beautiful juxtaposition of flavors and experiences. So I wanted to create this capsule that encapsulates this sort of journey to this point.”

Miguel Pascual, head of marketing at Pernod Ricard Korea, said that Royal Salute has expanded its brand into contemporary art by reinterpreting the concept of time and the effort invested in whiskies through collaborations with artists.

Time Chamber is valued at more than 150 million won ($112,000).