The senses of smell and taste are irrevocably intertwined, and serve as our primary guide when discovering, enjoying and describing drinks like whisky.
However, as creators, curators and collectors of art, we find that the sense of sight can evoke sensory stimuli that can “paint” a story and complete the “picture”, thus enhancing the overall perception of a fine whisky.
Brand: Second Wind
Work: Ghost Ship
Artist: Michael Eather
The Ghost Ship that features on the Second Wind label has been explored by Eather since the early 1990s. Eather explains “the Ghost Ship in many ways is the Father Ship… it appears allegorically, perhaps as a frail vessel for travellers and lost souls…”
A three-masted ship appears a mirage, a symbol of soul searching. It also represents the three pillars of my family history as well as three great chapters in a larger Australian story: First Nation — founders; Second Fleet — convicts and colonisers; followed by Immigrant Waves. The five portals symbolise my five daughters, who between them all share and carry these survival stories for generations to follow.
Whisky: After Dark
Work: Shoosh!
Artist: Michael Eather
About Shoosh!
Developed through earlier images of Shoosh! and whispers of the Ghost Ship, L’Immensité de la Mer (2013), it incorporates Michael Eather’s photo based compositions originally photographed in 1994 which feature his eldest daughter Noni, then aged nine. The Shoosh! image captures many of the collaborative and cross-cultural themes Eather continues to explore.
Connection
“After Dark” finishes with rich, syrupy, toffee-like notes. It captures a provocative mood and evokes images of evening enjoyment and reflection. The Shoosh! image captures this essence and denotes the mystery and beauty, beckoning curiosity, adventure and wonder for those willing to travel with us!
Whisky: Lightning Strike
Work: Lightning Strikes
Artist: Michael Nelson Jagamara
About Lightning Strikes
Lightning Strikes has an angular base which represents a section of the “travelling storm snaking its way across the continent”, and the three jagged upright forms represent the ‘flashes of lightning’. Jagamara’s graphic gestural forms are re-imagined as classic hard-edged sculptures. They are fabricated in a variety of outdoor materials and patinas including bronze, polished stainless steel, polyurethane and aluminum.
Connection
In 2022 when Second Wind discovered two of their distinctive barrels could be brought together with superlative results, it was aptly named Lightning Strike – a timely attribute to MNJ who travelled two worlds with grace and excellence. The whisky has a hint of petrichor, further connecting it with the vision of lightning and rain.
Whisky: Man Grove
Work: Temple Bay
Artist: Rosella Namok
About Temple Bay
Rosella Namok’s most recent sculpture, Temple Bay, brings together her signature linear designs from her Mangrove series - a poetically inspired landscape realised into a contemporary sculptural form. Temple Bay is in fact a remote coastal location north of Lockhart River where the artist grew up. Rosella has vivid memories of visiting the bay during her fishing trips, viewing the mangrove coastline from the sea. Assembled on a curved base, the sculpture consists of 16 bronze ‘ribbons’ representing the mangrove lines, finished with two distinctive patinas. One side is an oceanic sea-green patina, the other an earthy ochre brown.
Connection
The inspiration came from the tasting of this whisky with Paul, Michael and Phil at Michael’s gallery, which backs onto Breakfast Creek, lined by mangroves. The whisky’s earthy richness and vegetal nuances brought to mind the piece we had just been admiring — Rosella’s Temple Bay. We thought a play on words with an inspiration from the mangroves was a perfect name for this complex whisky.