Hermès enlists two artists for watches & wonders 2021 scenography

watchers and wonders geneva — the annual watch fair — is presenting its digital edition through april 13th. as watchmakers continue to digitally adapt, Hermès has presented an installation in collaboration with artists clément vieille and pierre pauze to introduce its latest collection the H08.

images by Hermès

dubbed texture of time, the installation blends architecture, technology and Hermès traditional know-how. centered around the H08 collection, the presentation has been set inside geneva’s bâtiment des forces motrices, a 19th-century performance art center. the scenography features both videos and sculptures that are reminiscent of the maison’s idea of time, showcasing science, art and horology.

‘pierre pauze is passionate about quantum physics, which allows us to see beyond linear temporality. he explores cyclical time and uses natural cycles as the temporal structure of his kinetic art,’ said laurent dordet, CEO of Hermès. ‘clément vieille places research and technique at the centre of his creative process, reducing a static structure to its lines of tension and compression.’

for his intervention, pierre pauze shed light on the watchmaking process and the natural elements that embody it while clément vieille created a massive line structure which outlines both tension and compression. ‘the watch itself was the initial inspiration but was then interpreted, piece by piece, to fill the whole of the large showcase,’ said vieille. ‘in the end, the watch becomes almost imperceptible, but the thousands of translucent sculptures that populate the showcase come from a 3D file of the watch I was given at the beginning of the project. it is omnipresent without one really noticing it.’

‘it was as if it was being infused little by little with ideas of organic and mechanical fluidity,’ concluded pauze. ‘it was at this point that we suggested to Hermès that we merge these energies and resources into two parallel projects. the watch is mostly integrated in fragments and through evocation. the idea was to move away from the usual aesthetic that puts the product first. I think that as a watch is worn, it is also experienced. the work does not replace the watch, and the watch does not replace the work. they thus maintain their respective strengths.’