In 2016, Rowena Martinich and Geoffrey Carran were commissioned to create a large performative artwork at the grand finale of The Most Imaginative Bartender Awards.
This event was held at the Rumpus Room on the penthouse floor of the Mondrian Hotel, London. The site for the artwork was on the bar windows which overlooked the Thames. The theme of the evening was ‘every glass is a blank canvas,’ and this was our starting point. As dusk turned to evening, the artwork came to life in response to the spectacular cocktails that were being created at the event. The rich botanicals and spices that make gin, and the abundance of mixers that can shake together for a delicious concoction, bartending implements and glassware, and the energy of the excited crowd was the inspiration for this vast, actively painted artwork. In the lead-up to the event, Rowena and Geoffrey attended a series of challenges and heats to get a true understanding of the process behind the bartender’s craft.
