Does gin stir your senses? Does art create an emotional reaction? Would an art piece that has been created to reflect the ingredients which comprise the Bombay & Tonic cocktail, truly ignite the sensory pathways in your brain?
This is what Bombay Sapphire wanted to explore in their latest collaboration with artist Dan Lam.
The campaign concentrates not so much on the artwork that Lam was able to create, but more on the reaction that art is able to elicit. In an attempt to show art as more accessible, the brand auctioned Lam’s art, not to the highest monetary bidder but instead to the highest emotional bidder. In other words, they created a sensory auction.
Designed to bring to life the sensorial experience of enjoying the Bombay & Tonic, bidders had their reactions to the artwork measured through a unique combination of emotional and intensity readings to discover who was most impassioned by the piece and who, therefore should rightfully be the new owner of the art.
“Bombay Sapphire has always encouraged modern gin drinkers, bartenders and artists alike to embrace their own creative self-expression – that is the very essence of our Stir Creativity platform and remains at the heart of everything we do as a brand,” says Jaime Keller, Brand Director Bombay Sapphire, North America. “For us, creativity is essential so to visually showcase the beauty and simplicity of the classic Bombay & Tonic and ignite people’s senses, it was natural for us to partner with Dan Lam on our mission to making the art world more accessible.”
After everything that has happened over the last year, the brand believes that people are craving outlets and access for creativity more than ever before. They, therefore, felt as Keller mentioned, “excited to participate in the conversation to democratize the art world, with the event’s focus on passion and conviction as the route to collecting an incredible piece of art instead of access to money.”
Held in the bustling arts district in New York’s Lower East Side, the Sensory Auction was open to art-lovers through designated time slots which were booked up within minutes.
How it worked was that participants were fitted with state-of-the-art neuro-aesthetic technology to measure their subconscious sensory reactions to determine the most passionate bidder, from electrodes being placed along the scalp for brain wave readings, skin galvanic response technologies to detect even the most minute of sweat drops to eye-tracking technology to measure focus and engagement.
The art enthusiasts then viewed Lam’s artwork for the first time, which featured materials that were layered on top of one another to reflect the ingredients which comprise the Bombay & Tonic cocktail. The tonic water is reflected in the hints of white swirled in with a deep blue, which is inspired by the hue of blue that encompasses the Bombay Sapphire bottle. The work is finished off with a myriad of spikes to harken back to the complexities of ingredients used in the distilling of Bombay Sapphire gin.
“I’m so excited to be partnering with Bombay Sapphire to award this piece to the person who feels the most joy from my sculpture. It’s important to me to share my work with people who might not otherwise get a chance to experience it, especially after the past year. The goal with the Sensory Auction is to help in the efforts to democratize the art world, making it a more inclusive space,” says Lam.
In celebration of the Sensory Auction and the brand’s partnership with Lam, there is an exclusive cocktail named the Dan & Tonic which will be served at the event and is inspired by Lam’s creative process.
The Dan & Tonic Cocktail
Ingredients
- 1.5 oz Bombay Sapphire
- 5 oz Fever Tree Lemon Tonic
- ¼ oz Edible Blackberry Puree
Instructions
Build Bombay and Tonic in a balloon glass with fresh ice. Serve with the resin in its own paint jar. Pour resin over cocktail and use stir rod to incorporate as much or as little as you would like.
For more information, go to bombaysapphire.com
