Hamish Dobbie’s work is influenced by the Scottish landscape, in which he has been a practising silversmith since 2013. His practice explores the interactive nature of domestic vessels and tableware, and how they can encourage interaction between people based on shared experiences. Drinking vessels have been Dobbie’s main focus, as the need to hold the vessel and bring it to the mouth to use it creates a particularly intimate interaction between the user and the object. Each work offers multiple points of contact between object and the body, presenting a different landscape for the hand and mouth to explore. As functional pieces, Dobbie intends for the user to engage with them and experience the changing surfaces as they are handled. His vessels invite an exchange, their metallic, semi-reflective surface capturing light to reveal the depth and texture of each vessel.
Misty Mountain Beaker (2023) and Heavy Quarried Beaker (2023), are two vessels that depict the rugged shapes and textures found in nature, created with traditional hammering skills from a single sheet of silver. Although identical in size and material, Dobbie likens them to a brother and sister relationship rather than twins, each respectively possessing varying textures that distinguish them apart. The textures in the beakers are inspired by various Scottish and English landscapes. Smooth surfaces blend into heavy textures and back again, populating the otherwise cylindrical structure with mountains and valleys. The deeply carved texture of Heavy Quarried Beaker, in particular, references the famous limestone quarries in Lincolnshire, the source for much building stone across the UK. Dobbie’s work complements the Usher Gallery’s metalwork collection, which contains pieces from the 16th Century to the present day.
The founding collection of the Usher Gallery was the bequest from James Ward Usher (1845-1921), a 19th-century Lincoln jeweller and goldsmith. His personal collection included English silver, with examples of tea ware, tableware, drinking vessels and commemorative ware. Building on this tradition, the metalwork collection has been supplemented with pieces from contemporary local and national makers, and the beakers continue this practice.
