This glass sculpture was inspired by 200 year-old bottles of rum found in Harewood’s cellars.

Its coloured glass, bound by copper wire and rope, represents the enslaved individuals who produced the Harewood rum, almost certainly based at one of the Lascelles family’s sugar plantations in the Caribbean.

The title of the piece Under the Influence, is a play on words, referencing both the nature of rum as an alcohol, but also the fact that slavery was pervasive across British society.

Under the Influence was produced for Chris Day’s solo exhibition in All Saints’ Church at Harewood in 2021.