The Scottish artist whose whale-inspired work is to be displayed in UK Government buildings around the world

Paisley-born Anya Gallaccio has been announced as the recipient of the Robson Orr TenTen Award 2025 by the Government Art Collection.

Every year a British artist is commissioned to create a unique, limited-edition print. which is presented by the Government Art Collection and sponsored by philanthropists Sybil Robson Orr and Matthew Orr.

Fifteen editions of the print are displayed in government buildings and embassies around the world, while 11 are sold and funds are used to acquire work by artists under-represented in the government's collection.

The print, eight hours of whale song, was inspired by the artist’s long-held fascination with the communication system of the whales and the pioneering work of the 19th-century Welsh singer Margaret Watts Hughes.

Ms Gallaccio played eight hours of recorded whale song through a drum with pigment laid on top, watching as it danced on the surface and image slowly emerged. These became the basis for a print made using relief and pyrogravure (wood burning) processes. The prints were made and editioned at Dundee Contemporary Arts Print Studio.

Ms Gallaccio said: “In creating this print I was thinking in particular about the importance of diplomacy for an island nation – our need to connect across oceans. I am a sculptor, so I wanted it to be a very physical, tactile object. You have embossed areas, areas of relief, burnt areas, and you have the texture of the wood print. Each print is unique.”

Born in Paisley in 1963, Ms Gallaccio was brought up in Glasgow and London and now works between London and San Diego, California. Renowned for her use of materials such as ice, apples, flowers and trees, in natural processes of transformation and decay, the artist has exhibited extensively in the UK and internationally.

Eliza Gluckman, director of Government Art Collection, said: “In the eighth year of this extraordinary partnership with the Robson Orr Foundation, we are delighted to announce a new commission by Anya Gallaccio for the Government Art Collection.

“The TenTen Award has spanned an extraordinary decade, and each new print has seen a significant British artist bring a timely story to life.

“Gallaccio’s work considers the necessity of oceans to human life and the modes of communication across them. Engaging with the haunting and complex songs of whales, this print will be displayed in British government buildings globally and speak to the escalating climate crisis. In the process of printmaking, Gallaccio experimented with the transformation of sound into image to create a conceptually rich and materially compelling work.”

Sybil Robson Orr and Matthew Orr said: “When the Robson Orr TenTen Award was first launched, none of us anticipated just how directly each year’s commission would speak to its moment. Over eight years, these works have travelled into embassies and cultural spaces worldwide, sparking dialogue and playing a quiet but vital role in soft diplomacy.

“Anya Gallaccio’s TenTen print continues that legacy with striking relevance. By evoking the language of whales and the oceans that connect us, she reminds us that communication, through listening, connecting, and finding common ground, is essential for diplomacy, human connection and our collective future.”