Ballantine’s Artist Series returns for 2016

Chivas Brothers-owned Scotch brand Ballantine’s has partnered with music video director and photographer Dave Ma to launch three limited edition gift packs as part of its annual Artist Series.

Ballantine’s Artist Series has returned for its second year

Created to champion individuals who are “committed to expressing their creativity in unique ways”, Ballantine’s Artist Series returns for its second year with a series of “otherworldly” aerial photographs by Ma.

After moving from Sydney to London a decade ago to pursue a career in music photography and video direction, he started a ‘zine’ to showcase his work with emerging bands.

Ma has worked with a variety of music artists such as Foals and Rudimental, and recently discovered a passion for capturing aerial landscape photographs – this first series of which were featured on the Jagwar Ma single artwork for Come Save Me.

For the Ballantine’s Finest Sleeve and Tin, Ma photographed the Scottish Highlands from above and reworked his photographs with a bold two-tone colour palette to reflect the “energy and youthful personality” of the blend.

Tactile technology has been used on the Sleeve to reflect the look and feel of the rugged terrain in this part of Scotland.

When creating the design for the Ballantine’s 12 Year Old Tin, Ma used a rich blue colour palette to “reflect the complexity of flavours” in the blend.

Ma said: “I was ultimately drawn to working with Ballantine’s for the excitement of doing something completely different, that would still represent my artistic style. It was awe-inspiring to see that part of Scotland, and to be able to shoot a really unique perspective of that landscape.

“My focus was to capture the natural beauty of the terrain, but I wanted to move the images away from the all-too-familiar green landscapes of the Scottish Highlands and give each gift pack its own distinctive look, which reflected the personalities of each of the blends.”

Sophie Gallois, global marketing director for Ballantine’s, added: “The Ballantine’s Artist Series champions unique individuals that ‘stay true’ to their creative style and Dave Ma is no exception.

“He captured the beauty of our Scottish heritage, resulting in these striking gift packs that will no doubt be a great addition to any whisky connoisseurs’ collection and complement last year’s designs as part of the Ballantine’s Artist Series collection.”

The 2016 Ballantine’s Artist Series Limited Edition gift packs are now available globally.