For sculptor Philp Rae-Scott, the "functionless" object is the driving concept. Growing up passionately concerned with well-built, functional objects, art took precedence when he realised that he could achieve closer to "perfection" with sculpture. It is possible to "finish" a sculpture, whereas mechanical, functional projects are never finished; there is always something to wear out, or improve on.

Rae-Scott is predominantly a formalist rather than a conceptual artist. His work tends to be hard-edged, geometric, and solid. He is concerned with quality materials, surface finish and longevity. He prefers producing taller than human height sculpture; the belief being that as humans, we instinctively view any object in relation to our own size. It is part of our survival instincts to treat an object larger than ourselves with some respect and even trepidation.