The Catch: Land Rover’s Dramatic New Sculpture For Rugby World Cup 2015

22 September 2015

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

  • Land Rover unveils dramatic new sculpture at Twickenham Stadium, England as a meeting point for fans
  • Unveiled by England rugby legend and Land Rover Ambassador Lawrence Dallaglio OBE in celebration of Rugby World Cup 2015
  • The Catch is the result of the ongoing collaboration between Land Rover's Design Director and Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, and the acclaimed Italian artist, Nino Mustica
  • It was inspired by the line out, one of the most memorable moments in rugby that demands a unique combination of power and finesse
  • Two identical sculptures have been produced for Twickenham Stadium, England and the Millennium Stadium, Wales
  • View the film here

Land Rover has revealed The Catch, a dramatic new sculpture to celebrate Rugby World Cup 2015. Measuring over 8 metres tall, 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.

McGovern and Mustica were joined by England rugby legend and Land Rover Ambassador, Lawrence Dallaglio, to unveil the sculpture at Twickenham Stadium, England, where it will serve as a meeting point for fans throughout Rugby World Cup 2015. A second, identical sculpture will debut at the Millennium Stadium in Wales on 19 September 2015.

The Catch was inspired by the line out, one of the most memorable moments in rugby that demands a unique combination of power and finesse.  Representing the fusion of art, automotive design and sport, it builds on the critical success of McGovern and Mustica's first collaboration, Unstoppable Spirit, which debuted in London in September 2015 (www.unstoppablespirit.com).

Constructed in Turin, Italy, The Catch is 8.2 metres high and 10 metres wide and took a team of forty people over 10,000 man‑hours to build. Each sculpture features over 100 square metres of artificial grass and recreates the Land Rover Discovery Sport in a scale of 1:1. There are also 39 individual lights, which are used to create an abstract light show representing the colours of the 20 competing nations.

Lawrence Dallaglio OBE, a Rugby World Cup 2003 winner, acted as a consultant to the project. He visited 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 looks at the line out with a fresh perspective.

"This sculptural form is a celebration of Rugby World Cup 2015," says McGovern. "We've taken a very powerful moment in the game and described it in an abstract way. As an Englishman, I'll never forget the Rugby World Cup 2003 Final and it's been fascinating to spend time with Lawrence and to learn more about the unique challenge of the line out. The combination of power and control required in the line out 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."

Dallaglio says: "Everyone thinks that rugby is all about big, powerful guys, but there's also an artistic and creative element to the game that's beautifully reflected in The Catch. It was fascinating to spend time in Land Rover's Virtual Reality Cave, to discuss the line out, and to make my contribution to the evolution of the sculpture. I'm sure it will become a memorable meeting point for fans and add to the excitement of Rugby World Cup 2015."

For Mustica, the work represents an on going relationship with Land Rover that began with Unstoppable Spirit. "I'm delighted to be working with Gerry [McGovern] again on this unique project for Rugby World Cup 2015," he says. "The line out has a beauty and finesse that belies its explosive power and I've tried to reveal that in The Catch. I hope it will stimulate debate among fans attending games throughout the Tournament."

The Catch will be on view in the Fan Zone at Twickenham, England, and at the Millennium Stadium in Wales for the duration of Rugby World Cup 2015.

To find out more visit www.landrover.com/rugby.

 

ENDS

 

Further information

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

Paul Owen, Design Communications Manager, Land Rover Global PR

powen@jaguarlandrover.com  +44 7880 177344

 

The Catch Film: https://youtu.be/thdRc3YfB68

You Tube embed code: <iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/thdRc3YfB68" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/landrover

Twitter: @LandRover

Instagram: LANDROVER

#ABOVEANDBEYOND   

Notes to Editors

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.

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).

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