Famous Collaboration sculpture goes on show

The Famous Collaboration sculpture on display. Picture: Comp

The Famous Collaboration, shown for the first time yesterday, reveals the aspirations and ideals of fame from people around the world who were asked to answer the question: “What would you like to be famous for”.

The collaborative project, which was launched globally by The Famous Grouse in August, has seen over 20 countries participate, resulting in thousands of responses.

Entries have come from as far and wide as Taiwan, Russia, Turkey, Canada, Greece and Belgium.

Over 1,500 submissions were selected to reflect the diverse range of answers about fame, which included: discovering life on another planet, becoming the first one to savour whisky on the moon and securing equal rights for all people.

Led by Marshmallow Laser Feast, in conjunction with Studio Roso on the design of the sculpture, and with Ruairi Glynn on the kinetic and lighting elements, the design team was made up of 34 engineers and digital specialists.

The sculpture is just over 5m high and just under 5m wide at the widest point, weighs around 300 kilos and consists of more than 62 copper-plated strips forming a giant spiral. Using specialist lighting and a robotic arm, which sits at the heart of the structure, the laser-cut words are projected dramatically onto all the surrounding walls and surfaces.

The vast sculpture is suspended from the ceiling allowing viewers to stand underneath and experience both the inside and outside reflections. The robotic arm, which sits at the centre, can also be controlled remotely by viewers when standing underneath the sculpture – bringing the sculpture truly to life.

Barney Steel from Marshmallow Laser Feast said: “The whisky making process provided a rich source of inspiration for all aspects of the sculpture; the rings around whisky barrels inspired the strips of copper, the pot stills inspired the shape, size and style and the liquid vortex created when you swirl whisky in a glass for nosing and tasting inspired the lighting effect.”

Asanka De Silva, Global Brand Controller for The Famous Grouse, said: “As a brand that earned the right to be famous since 1905, now 108 years on, we wanted to discover what being famous means to people today. It’s been fascinating to see the wide range of answers from around the world and bringing them to life in such a unique way.

“This year’s sculpture is just the start of a new journey for The Famous Grouse brand as we bring to life the power of collaboration which is an everyday part of our life in making a truly famous whisky. We have many ideas about how we might do this and so who knows what we might achieve next year.”

The unique collaboration of artistic and technology teams has allowed for a truly inspirational sculptural concept. The invitation to ‘Be Part of Something Famous’ will continue to live on somethingfamous.com The sculpture is scheduled to return to Scotland at a later date.