Enriching the dialogue that has long existed between horology, artisanship and art, Made of Makers is a profound expression of the core principles that have defined Jaeger-LeCoultre for 190 years: creativity, expertise and precision. With intense respect for the person in the process – the creativity of the mind and the skill of the hand – the programme focuses on world-class creators from outside the world of watchmaking, who share the Maison’s values and whose work explores new forms of expression through different and often unexpected materials and media.

“Through Made of Makers we are looking for different perspectives on how the practices of watchmaking, art and other creative disciplines can bring value to lived experiences,” says Catherine Rénier, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “We seek out artists from disciplines as diverse as gastronomy, music and digital art, who harness great imagination to meticulous artistic processes, creating works that expand our minds, challenge our senses and trigger strong emotions.”

Guillaume Marmin employs light, sound and movement in complex and evocative relationships that redefine traditional ideas of sculpture, space and time. His work evokes the beauty of the imperceptible and the laws of physics, creating a new world of images and narrations, transporting the viewer to another place and inviting contemplation and introspection. Its deepest fascination lies in this almost transcendental effect on the viewer.

“I try to carry out an approach that is both conceptual and technical at the same time,” says the artist. “I am always looking for new tools to experiment with, and the times we live in are particularly conducive to this. When we work around light, we are at the crossroads of scientific, artistic, philosophical, even mystical questions. To a certain extent, I think my work is a continuation of the research begun by artists like Victor Vasarely or François Morellet since the 1950s. I also have a strong desire to take art out of the galleries, to invest the public space and find new distribution networks.”

While using technologically advanced tools and digital media, Guillaume Marmin’s work is always grounded in expressions of reality. Through subjects such as Earth, architecture, the paradigms of physics and – in this commission for Jaeger-LeCoultre – astronomical phenomena, he illustrates the ambivalence of the present day in its relationship between nature and technology.

 “We are delighted to be working with Guillaume,” says Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “The way his work sparks the imagination and creates a sense of awe and wonder captures perfectly the feeling we get when we look at the night sky and contemplate the movements of the stars and planets. In this sense, as well as the elegance and underlying complexity of his systems, we see an exact parallel with watchmaking. As it explores the very meaning of time, Passengers: Through Time is an outstanding expression of our Stellar Odyssey theme.”

Passengers: Through Time

In partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre, Guillaume Marmin created an entirely new chapter for his acclaimed installation, Passengers. This second chapter, Passengers: Through Time, focuses on celestial and astronomical observation, offering its visitors – or passengers – an exploration of the links between time, space and light, as described by the theory of relativity.

“The challenge of this project was to make perceptible the relationship between observation of the sky and the measurement of time,” says Guillaume Marmin “From discussions with astronomers and watchmakers, I imagined an art installation capable of transcribing the links that unite time and space.”

The intense planning phase of Passengers: Through Time included deep consultation between the artist and the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble, which enabled him to identify and model the relationship between time and the cosmos in the light of contemporary knowledge. By employing generative programming to transcribe the data he collected, he has created an immersive and inspiring environment that enables us to momentarily approach the beauty of the unseen and the mathematical foundation of reality.

Through a kinetic device contained within a walk-through capsule and made up of visual and sound movements, infinite reflections and dizzying perspectives, the installation takes visitors (passengers) on a stellar excursion in which they are the protagonists. In the passengers’ minds, this complex and evocative interplay of light, sound and movement captures the vastness of the cosmos, inviting reflection on the fundamental question of what time really is.

Exploring the wonders that we can observe in our night sky, The Stellar Odyssey reveals the awe-inspiring phenomena that the watchmakers of Jaeger-LeCoultre express through their celestial complications, displaying mankind’s link to the cosmos directly on the wrist in a literal, philosophical and uniquely captivating way.

Following the inauguration of The Stellar Odyssey at Watches and Wonders in 2022, Dubai has been chosen as the first stop on a tour of major world cities. The exhibition will be staged in a spectacular pavilion ‘floating’ on the waters of the Dubai Fountain, with Burj Khalifa as its backdrop.

“It is an important part of our mission at Jaeger-LeCoultre to share the secrets behind the art and craft of watchmaking with the wider world by bringing our Manufacture from the Vallée de Joux to the public around the globe,” says Catherine Rénier, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “The ancient cultures of the Middle East played a seminal role in the origins of time measurement, and we are therefore delighted that Dubai is where the world tour of The Stellar Odyssey makes its debut. It is a special opportunity to trace the unbroken line through several millennia to the exceptional legacy of innovation that has driven our Maison for 190 years and the work that we do today.”

Showcasing a careful curated selection of the Manufacture’s most remarkable historic timepieces as well as its most recent celestially-inspired timepieces – including the extraordinary Atmos clock and the Reverso Hybris Mechanica Calibre 185 – the exhibition features multi-media installations that will take visitors on a virtual journey to the cosmos. It translates the wonders of the celestial world into art installations and multi-sensory experiences, while the Atelier d’Antoine, named after the Maison’s founder, Antoine LeCoultre, shares watchmaking know-how through hands-on educational workshops based on the Stellar Odyssey theme.

Revealing the Mysteries of Astronomical Timekeeping in Eight Chapters

Within the main exhibition pavilion, The Stellar Odyssey explores the creative and cultural universe of astronomically-inspired watchmaking in eight chapters. Visitors begin by discovering the very origins of time, the impact of celestial phenomena on the way we measure it, and the origins of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s expertise in developing astronomical complications. Each of the five following chapters leads visitors through a different cosmic phenomenon, displaying rare historic watches as well as timepieces from the most recent collections to illustrate how the Manufacture has continually reinterpreted the movements of the stars and planets in the form of intricate complications that represent, measure and even predict celestial events directly on the wrist.

Enriching the Stellar Experience

In the heart of the main pavilion beneath a geodesic dome, an immersive digital show takes visitors on a virtual journey through space and time, transporting them through infinite space and 13.7 billion years of time to reveal the mysteries of the cosmos in five episodes – from the origins of our known universe to the present day.

“Through a variety of immersive experiences, The Stellar Odyssey presents different interpretations of the cosmos and its relation to timekeeping, inviting visitors to understand it more deeply,” says Catherine Rénier. “As well as transmitting the savoir-faire of watchmaking through the Atelier d’Antoine workshops, these experiences include two special collaborations under our Made of Makers programme.”

Established for the purpose of enriching the dialogue that has long existed between horology, artisanship and art, Made of Makers is a programme of collaborations with artists and artisans from various disciplines outside watchmaking. It focuses on world-class creators who share Jaeger-LeCoultre’s values of creativity, expertise and precision and whose work explores new forms of expression through different and often unexpected materials and media. For The Stellar Odyssey, Jaeger-LeCoultre has commissioned projects by French multi-media artist Guillaume Marmin and world-renowned mixologist Matthias Giroud.

For his installation, Passengers: Through Time, Guillaume Marmin employs light, sound and movement in complex relationships that redefine traditional ideas of sculpture, space and time. As visitors walk through the work, infinite reflections and dizzying perspectives take them on a stellar excursion in which they are the protagonists, inviting reflection on the fundamental question of what time really is. For the Stellar Atelier, Matthias Giroud has created a menu of highly original soft cocktails inspired by the cosmos, taking his inspiration from the colours, temperatures and forms of the stars and planets, and blending familiar ingredients with intriguing scents and flavours from the Vallée de Joux.

In the Atelier d’Antoine, visitors can complete their journey of astral discovery by joining a hands-on Discovery Workshop that focuses on the wonder of astronomical complications and the celestial origins of time-keeping – a rare opportunity to gain deep insight and practical experience of this magical world.

The Stellar Odyssey will be presented from Saturday 4^th to Thursday 23^rd February 2023 at the Dubai Fountain, Downtown Dubai, open daily from 2:00pm to 12.00 am. Tickets may be booked  online at https://online-booking.jaeger-lecoultre.com/domaine/theme12

Over the years, Jaeger-LeCoultre has been expanding its creative and cultural universe through a series of art commissions, as well as collaborations with world-class practitioners of crafts from outside the world of watchmaking, thus enlarging the dialogue that exists between horology and art. In keeping with La Grande Maison’s great legacy of innovation in watchmaking, these collaborations focus on artists whose work explores unexpected forms of expression.

In his work, Guillaume Marmin employs light, sound and movement in complex and evocative relationships that redefine traditional ideas of sculpture, space and time. It evokes the beauty of the imperceptible and the laws of physics, mingling sound and light to create a new world of images and narrations, and transporting the viewer to another plane, raising profound questions and inviting contemplation and introspection. Its deepest fascination lies in this almost transcendental effect on the viewer.

 As the artist has said of his work: “I try to carry out an approach that is both conceptual and technical at the same time. I am always looking for new tools to experiment with, the times we live in are particularly conducive to this. When we work around light, we are always at the crossroads of scientific, artistic but also philosophical, even mystical questions. To a certain extent, I think my work is a continuation of the research begun by artists like Victor Vasarely or François Morellet since the 1950s. With contemporary tools, I am interested in abstract forms, movement or still in the light. There is also this same desire to take the works out of the galleries, to invest the public space and to find new distribution networks.”

While using technologically advanced tools and digital media, Guillaume Marmin’s work is always grounded in expressions of reality. Through subjects such as Earth, architecture, the paradigms of physics – and in this new commission for Jaeger-LeCoultre, astronomical phenomena – he illustrates the ambivalence of the present day in its relationship between nature and technology.

 “We are delighted to be working with Guillaume,” says Catherine Rénier, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “The way his work sparks the imagination and creates a sense of awe and wonder captures perfectly the feeling we get when we look at the night sky and contemplate the movements of the stars and planets. In this sense, as well as the elegance and underlying complexity of his systems, we see an exact parallel with watchmaking. As it explores the very meaning of time, Passengers: Through Time is an outstanding expression of our Stellar Odyssey theme this year.”

Passengers: Through Time

In partnership with Jaeger-LeCoultre, Guillaume Marmin has created an entirely new chapter for his acclaimed installation, Passengers. This second chapter, Passengers: Through Time, focuses on celestial and astronomical observation, offering its visitors – or ‘passengers’ – an exploration of the links between time, space and light, as described by the theory of relativity.

“The challenge of this project is to make perceptible the relationship between the observation of the sky and the measurement of time,” says Guillaume Marmin “From exchanges with astronomers and watchmakers, I imagined an art installation capable of transcribing the links that unite time and space. Its visual and sound content is constantly renewed thanks to a program established according to the geographical coordinates of each exhibition venue, the solar and lunar calendars, and the timetables. Through a kinetic device composed of games of reflections, the installation can be perceived as a spatio-temporal excursion in which we would be the protagonists. »

The intense planning phase of Passengers: Through Time included a deep consultation between the artist and the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble, which enabled him to identify and model the relationship between time and the cosmos in the light of contemporary knowledge. Employing generative programming to transcribe the data he collected during this phase, he has created an immersive and inspiring environment that enables us to momentarily approach the beauty of the unseen and the mathematical foundation of reality.

Through a kinetic device contained within a walk-through capsule and made up of visual and sound movements, infinite reflections and dizzying perspectives, the installation takes visitors on a stellar excursion in which they are the protagonists. In the passengers’ minds, this complex and evocative interplay of light, sound and movement captures the vastness of the cosmos, inviting reflection on the fundamental question of what time really is.

As Passengers: Through Time will travel to various global destinations as an integral part of the Stellar Odyssey Exhibition, its content will be perpetually modified in alignment with the solar calendar and the geographical coordinates of each exhibition site, thus expressing celestial phenomena in real time and place.

ABOUT GUILLAUME MARMIN

Born in France, Guillaume Marmin trained at the University of Lyon II, then specialised in in film, audio-visual media and digital media at ARFIS École. His work, connected from the beginning to the music scene and performing arts, is part of a revival of visual creation by overcoming traditional forms of storytelling and traditional performing media. Influenced by experimental filmmakers, Guillaume Marmin is looking for a new synaesthetic alphabet, a shared language between images and sounds, rhythms, contrast and sleek moving figures.

To develop this new language, Marmin’s work includes mapping on 3D sculptures and buildings, projection on photography and screen printing, bodies in motion and smoke. His immersive works in public spaces involve collaborations between architects, musicians and lighting designers, and give body to the intangible, making us momentarily approach the beauty of the unseen and the mathematical foundation of reality. Despite the use of technologically advanced tools and the intervention of digital media, Guillaume Marmin’s work is always grounded in expressions of reality. Whether his subject is Earth (Around the Island), climatic phenomena (Après-nous le Déluge), architecture (Raster) or the history of paradigms in physics (Timée), he illustrates the ambivalence of the present day in its relationship between nature and technology.

ABOUT THE STELLAR ODYSSEY

In 2022 Jaeger-LeCoultre pays homage to the astronomical phenomena that lie at the very origin of how mankind measures time. Since the earliest days of the Manufacture, astronomical functions have played a major role in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s portfolio of complicated timepieces ­– ranging from simple forms of moon phase display to highly complex perpetual calendars, equation of time, sky charts, and the draconic and anomalistic lunar cycles. Mastering all three measures of time – solar, lunar and sidereal – the watchmakers of La Grande Maison have perpetually innovated to create the most advanced and precise mechanisms that represent or even predict celestial phenomena. This year, Jaeger-LeCoultre embarks on a Stellar Odyssey with an immersive exhibition and a series of themed events that will embrace inspirational collaborations with a visual artist and a mixologist, and a fascinating programme of celestially-themed Discovery Workshops at Atelier d’Antoine. The Stellar Odyssey is an invitation to discover how the mysteries of the cosmos are translated into micro-mechanical wonders for the wrist.

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