Jaeger-LeCoultre recently unveiled its latest collaboration under the Made of Makers programme, featuring works by Chinese street light painter Roy Wang. The commissioned pieces, which include three light painting photographs and a stop-motion video, debuted at The Precision Pioneer exhibition in Dubai in May.
The programme celebrates fine watchmaking and diverse artistic disciplines. Through collaborations with artists whose work embodies creativity, expertise, and precision, the watchmaker continues to explore new forms of artistic expression using a variety of often unexpected materials and media.
In the past, the programme has featured artists from different fields, including contemporary art, gastronomy, and music. The line-up this year includes Indian chef Himanshu Saini, and Wang, who brings a unique perspective to the programme.
Hailing from Beijing, his journey from a professional rugby player in Japan to an acclaimed light painter began after he stumbled upon a light drawing photograph from the 1949 collaboration between Pablo Picasso and Albanian photographer Gjon Mili. Inspired by the technique, Wang used light as his medium, creating ephemeral images captured through clever long-exposure photography.
As part of his collaboration, Wang combined Chinese tradition with his experience at the Vallée de Joux watch manufacture. The photographs pay tribute to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s iconic timepieces: ‘Flying Dragon’ commemorates the Reverso, ‘All the Best’ celebrates the intricacies of the Duometre watch calibre, and ‘Burning Flame’ pays homage to a 19th-century pocket watch. The stop-motion video ‘The Dragon of Time’ features one of Wang’s signature motifs, the dragon, which takes viewers on a fantastical journey through the manufacture.
Creating these works presented significant challenges as Wang needed to scale his work down to the tiny dimensions of watchmaking. Additionally, he developed new miniature light tools and mastered precise hand and wrist movements similar to those of a watchmaker.
Wang describes his art as the pursuit of the unknown. He works towards an imagined result without seeing the final product until after it’s captured. Similar to his experience as a professional athlete, this process relies on spatial memory, muscle memory, and imagination. Dressed in black, he remains invisible in the finished images since he is absorbed by the surrounding darkness. The light effects vanish as soon as they are created, yet live forever through his incredible photographs.
