Sometimes art gains magical features — the ability to showcase the emotion, snapshot the moment or even catch time. This is what was done by the British artist Conrad Shawcross, who is known for building the creatures of intersection between engineering, philosophy, and visual beauty. Conrad managed to make time stand still in his creation Time Chamber, commissioned by Royal Salute as a part of their cultural programme, The Art of Wonder, which is an annual collaboration between Royal Salute and contemporary UK artists.

The story goes — during his visit to the Strathisla Distillery in Scotland, British artist Conrad Shawcross RA found himself captivated by the profound scale of time contained within the beverages that form the 53-Year-Old blend accompanying his commission.

Inspired by Royal Salute’s guiding phrase “we begin where others end,” Shawcross focused his work on the ways in which time acts as a transformative force. His resulting sculpture, the Time Chamber, uses optical spun glass to distort light, cast shadow, and create shifting depths — a medium perfectly suited to exploring the abstract and physical dimensions of time.

Unveiled with applause at Frieze London 2023, the Time Chamber became the second edition in the Royal Salute Art of Wonder series, following Kate MccGwire’s Forces of Nature.

The Time Chamber merges a sapphire-blue hand-spun glass disc with an oblong crystal decanter, forming a sculptural vector of time that reflects the movement of galaxies, gravitational forces, and the long, slow maturation of an ultra-prestige whisky. Shawcross, a member of London’s Royal Academy of Arts, is internationally renowned for installations that blur the boundaries between art, physics and philosophy. His practice explores systems, temporality, matter and motion — making this collaboration a natural extension of his lifelong preoccupation with the metaphysics of time.

— Royal Salute commissioned you to interpret the idea of time through sculpture and craftsmanship. What was the conceptual starting point for the Time Chamber, and how did you choose to express time as a physical form?

— The conceptual starting point for Time Chamber was profoundly influenced by my visit to the Strathisla Distillery. Witnessing the environment where Royal Salute's precious blends mature and grasping the sheer scale of the 53 years this particular drink had spent aging, was truly inspiring. I wanted to capture that vast, transformative duration not just as a number, but as an active, immense force.

— Your practice often draws on physics, engineering, and geometry. Which scientific or mathematical principles were most influential in shaping the mechanisms or structure of the Time Chamber?

— My practice is fundamentally interdisciplinary and Time Chamber is a clear embodiment of this. Physics, engineering and geometry were highly influential. The optical glass disc directly references concepts from physics, specifically gravitational waves and the distortion of space-time, which I find incredibly profound.

The rippled surface is a static representation of a dynamic physical phenomenon. From a geometric and engineering perspective, the structure is a fused geometry of disparate elements. The spindle and decanter form a precise geometric vector of time, implying direction and force.

I like to approach each piece as an experiment, much like a scientist in a laboratory, ensuring that the visual aesthetics are deeply rooted in logical and scientific principles, creating an appearance of scientific rationality that underpins its artistic impact.

— The piece is both an artwork and a beverage vessel. How did you negotiate the relationship between form and function - between the ritual of opening the chamber and the purity of the sculptural object?

— Negotiating the relationship between form and function was a fascinating challenge at the heart of this project. My aim was to ensure that the functional aspect of housing such an exceptional whisky, didn't detract from the purity or conceptual power of the sculptural object, but instead enhanced it.

I achieved this by integrating the decanter not as a separate component, but as an indispensable part of the sculpture's narrative. The decanter itself forms part of the central vector of time element, making its presence essential to the artistic meaning.

The act of opening the chamber becomes a ritualistic extension of the art itself — a deliberate unveiling of the culmination of 53 years of patient craftsmanship. This synthesis ensures that it functions not just as a vessel, but as an art piece that invites a deep, contemplative interaction with both the art and the liquid.

— Much of your work explores movement, tension, and systems in equilibrium. Did you bring elements of motion or implied motion into this piece, even in a static form?

— Yes, absolutely. Even in its static form, Time Chamber is imbued with elements of implied motion and tension.

The hand-spun optical glass disc, for instance, inherently suggests a dynamic process. Its rippled surface is a frozen snapshot of a spinning motion, or a visual metaphor for the ongoing undulations of gravitational waves or space-time itself. It evokes a sense of cosmic movement and transformation.

Additionally, the central spindle and decanter powerfully implies directionality and forward motion, even if the physical object is still. This creates a subtle tension between its static presence and the inherent concepts of flow and progression it represents. The entire piece serves as a physical manifestation of time's ceaseless flow and transformative power, captured in a singular, thought-provoking form.

— The Time Chamber is an intimate object, designed to be held, opened, and experienced at close range. How did working at this scale compare to your large-scale public installations?

— Working on Time Chamber at an intimate scale was a wonderful counterpoint to my large-scale public installations, yet the underlying principles remained consistent. With larger pieces of work, the challenge is to command public space and engage an audience from a distance, creating an immersive experience through sheer presence and environmental interaction.

For Time Chamber, the intimacy required a different kind of precision and engagement. The scale allowed for a more personal, contemplative and ritualistic interaction. It shifted the focus from the grand gesture to the exquisite detail, from public spectacle to private discovery.

— You often reference the beauty of scientific rationality in your sculptures. How does the Time Chamber sit within your wider body of work — does it open a new chapter or echo themes you have long been exploring?

— The Time Chamber absolutely echoes and deepens themes I have long been exploring throughout my wider body of work. My artistic journey has consistently been driven by a fascination with mathematics, physics, and philosophy, placing a strong emphasis on the nature of matter, gravity and the fundamental nature of time itself.

The piece’s rigorous geometry, its allusions to gravitational waves and space-time and its precise engineering are all direct manifestations of scientific rationality translated into an aesthetic experience.

— If you imagine a collector engaging with the Time Chamber decades from now, what do you hope they perceive about the artwork or about the nature of time itself?

— Decades from now, when a collector engages with Time Chamber, I hope they perceive it as much more than just a rare drink or a beautiful object.

Instead, I hope they appreciate the meticulous craftsmanship, the thoughtful integration of its components and the profound narrative embedded within the Time Chamber 53 Year Old liquid — a lasting tribute to the transformative power of both creativity and time.

I want them to see it as a captured moment that speaks to the patience and vision of both the artist and the blender.