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Land Rover and Lawrence Dallaglio preview dramatic new sculpture ahead of Rugby World Cup
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Land Rover and Lawrence Dallaglio preview dramatic new sculpture ahead of Rugby World Cup

26 August 2015

Land Rover has previewed The Catch, a dramatic new sculpture to celebrate the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

  • Land Rover previews The Catch ahead of the Rugby World Cup
  • Measuring over 8m tall, The Catch is a dramatic new sculpture that will serve as a meeting point for fans at Twickenham Stadium, London and the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
  • The Catch has been inspired by the line out, a skill that requires a unique combination of power, precision and control
  • 2003 Rugby World Cup winner Lawrence Dallaglio acted as a consultant to the project and visited Land Rover's technical centre in Gaydon, England to advise on the unique characteristics of the line out
  • The sculpture is the result of the continued collaboration between Land Rover's Design Director and Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, and Italian artist Nino Mustica
  • The sculptures will debut at Twickenham on 17th September and the Millennium Stadium on 19th September and will be in place for the duration of the Rugby World Cup

Gaydon, UK, August 26, 2015 ‑ Land Rover has previewed The Catch, a dramatic new sculpture to celebrate the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Measuring over 8m tall, it will serve as a meeting point for fans at Twickenham Stadium, London and the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff. Representing the fusion of art, automotive design and sport, it is the second piece in a collaboration between Land Rover's Design Director and Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, and the acclaimed Italian artist Nino Mustica, which began with last year's critically acclaimed Unstoppable Spirit (www.unstoppablespirit.com).

The Catch was inspired by the line out, one of the most iconic moments in rugby that demands a unique combination of power and finesse. Lawrence Dallaglio, a 2003 Rugby World Cup winner, acted as a consultant to the project, visiting Land Rover's technical centre in Gaydon, England, to discuss with McGovern the unique characteristics of the line out. Throughout his career Dallaglio, who won 85 England caps, was recognised as a leading exponent of the skill, making him the ideal person to advise on a project that interprets the line out in a new way.

Dallaglio says: "With its unique combination of power, precision and control, the line out has always been one of my favourite elements of the game. It was fascinating to spend time in Land Rover's Virtual Reality Cave, discussing the dynamics of the line out and witnessing first hand the development of The Catch. I'm sure it will become a memorable meeting point for fans at Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium and add to the excitement of the Rugby World Cup."

"As an Englishman, I'll never forget the Rugby World Cup Final of 2003," says McGovern, "and it's been fascinating to spend time with Lawrence and learn more about the unique challenge of the line out. The combination of power and control is something that's echoed in everything we do at Land Rover. I'm also delighted to be working with Nino Mustica again, an artist with an extraordinary ability to reinterpret traditional themes in a new and intriguing way. I hope fans from across the world will agree that together we've created not just a meeting point, but a fascinating piece of art."

McGovern, Dallaglio and Mustica will reveal the first sculpture in the Fan Zone at Twickenham, England on September 16th. The second sculpture will debut at the Millennium Stadium in Wales on September 19th. Both will be in place for the duration of the Rugby World Cup.

ENDS

Further information

For further information log onto www.uk.media.landrover.com or contact:

Kim Palmer
Public Relations Manager, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 564 129
M: 07795 666 169
E: kpalmer@landrover.com

Tracey Tompsett
Senior Press Officer, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 565 210
M: 07469 032 064
E: ttompset@landrover.com

Jessica Rumboll
Press Officer, Land Rover UK
T: 02476 564 258
M: 07880 177 300
E: jrumboll@landrover.com

Follow us on Twitter: @LandRover_UK

Notes to Editors

About Lawrence Dallaglio:

Lorenzo Bruno Nero "Lawrence" Dallaglio is a former England international rugby union captain. Having achieved his first cap for his country in 1995, Dallaglio was appointed captain by coach Clive Woodward in 1997 and acquired 85 caps for England.

As well as remaining with London Wasps RFC for over 18 years as flanker or number eight, Dallaglio was also part of three British & Irish Lions tours in 1997, 2001 and 2005.

Dallaglio was a key member of the 2003 England Grand Slam and Rugby World Cup‑winning side, being the only player to play in every minute of England's Rugby World Cup campaign. With the Rugby World Cup win, he became one of the two players ‑ the other being England scrum half Matt Dawson ‑ to have won the Rugby World Cup in both the 15 and 7‑a‑side competitions.

Dallaglio retired in 2008 after Wasps won the 2008 Guinness Premiership Final in front of a capacity crowd of 81,600 at Twickenham, then a world Rugby Union record attendance for a club match.

Lawrence's outstanding achievements were recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours List, where he was awarded an MBE (2004) and an OBE (2008).

About Gerry McGovern:

As Design Director and Chief Creative Officer for Land Rover Gerry McGovern is a critically acclaimed automotive design leader.

After completing a degree in industrial design at Coventry University, McGovern studied for a Masters at the Royal College of Art in London, specialising in automotive design. His early career took in stints at Chrysler, Peugeot and Rover Group, where he was lead designer of the critically acclaimed MGF sports car, Land Rover Freelander and third generation Range Rover.

After a spell at Ford Motor Company heading up Lincoln‑Mercury, McGovern returned to the UK to run a design consultancy in London before rejoining Land Rover in 2004 as Director, Advanced Design. He was appointed Land Rover Design Director in 2006 and his position has since grown to include the role of Chief Creative Officer and he is an Executive member of the Jaguar Land Rover Board.

Responsible for guiding and visioning the future of this great British brand, McGovern has overseen a new generation of Land Rovers, which has established design at the very core of the business. The process began with the phenomenally successful Range Rover Evoque and was followed‑up with the all‑new Range Rover, Range Rover Sport and Discovery Sport.

McGovern's passion for design extends beyond the automotive industry; he is an authority on modern architecture, furniture and contemporary art. In October 2014 he was announced as a Visiting Professor at the prestigious Royal College of Art in London. His high profile status positions him perfectly as the figurehead of the Land Rover brand at a global level.

About Nino Mustica:

Nino Mustica was born in the eastern Sicilian town of Adrano. He inherited his mother's passion for painting and music, while his father ‑ an engineer ‑ instilled in him a love of drawing and architecture.  

He went on to study at Rome's Academy of Fine Arts after his initial training at Catania's Art Institute.

In the early 1970s he spent time in London and Copenhagen, before he moved to New York in the early 1980s. In London he found himself immersed in a free culture driven by experimentation, especially in music, the art form he sees as the most spiritual and capable of influencing other types of expression. It was music that allowed him to follow a path from the figurative to abstract.

In 1986, he settled in the northern Italian metropolis of Milan. Mustica taught at the famed Academy of Fine Arts in Brera and also tutored in Budapest before returning to Milan, this time to the well‑known technical university (Politecnico).

Mustica then gave up teaching to dedicate himself to painting, focussing on shaping colour. In 1994, his art took a significant step forward when he started to use 3D modelling software to further elaborate his paintings, transforming colour and its emotions on canvas into 'shapes of colour'. This process still remains unique and truly personal. Mustica takes one of his traditionally‑created paintings and re‑elaborates it using a computer, producing a 3D pictorial shape. In this process, the passage from the emotion of the colour to the shape is expressed through abstract volumes. The skin that separates a space is created virtually in a weightless universe, abstract like colour and thought. 

The shapes obtained can be translated into any scale, even for architecture. Mustica's work cuts across art, as music becomes colour abstraction, then a painting, a 3D pictorial shape and finally architecture. Sicilian of origin, but international in scope, Nino Mustica has been admired and studied by painters, sculptors and architects all over the world.

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