• Reinventing the 9^th Art: breathing new life into comics by transforming traditional storytelling into immersive webcomic design

• Olivecoat: showcasing an exclusive collaboration with a rising Filipino webcomic designer, known for blending imaginative narratives, tender character interactions, and self-aware humour, paired with a distinctive pastel palette and carefully crafted panels

• Reverso: reimagining a classic Western tale of Jaeger-LeCoultre heritage through an Eastern lens, creating an archive-inspired watchmaking webcomic

Jaeger-LeCoultre unveils the latest collaboration under its Made of Makers™ programme: a retelling of the origin story of the Reverso by The Webcomic Designer Olivecoat.

PUSHING FURTHER THE BOUNDARIES OF CLASSICAL ARTS

The Made of Makers™ programme draws a parallel between the worlds of horology and art, fostering collaborations with artists, designers, and craftsmen from disciplines outside watchmaking, who share the Maison’s values of creativity, expertise, and precision. The programme challenges the perception of classical arts as static or bound to the past, instead emphasising their continuous reinvention and honouring them as a leading source of creativity today. Just as today’s classics were once seen as radical at their inception, the Made of Makers™ programme explores how traditional forms and techniques can be reinvented through new materials and media, offering a fresh perspective on the dialogue between past and present. Like the watchmakers of La Grande Maison, these artists respect tradition as a foundation for creativity, while pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons, highlighting how both watchmaking and classical art express human creativity, reflect the culture of an era and trigger emotions.

To date, the Made of Makers™ community has embraced the worlds of contemporary visual art, gastronomy, music and perfumery – with artists including Zimoun (Switzerland), Michael Murphy (USA), Guillaume Marmin (France), lettering artist Alex Trochut (Spain/USA), pastry chef Nina Métayer (France), mixologist Matthias Giroud (France), digital media artist Yiyun Kang (Korea), musician TØKIO M¥ERS (UK), multi-media artist Brendi Wedinger (USA), Chef Himanshu Saini (India), street light-painter Roy Wang (China), perfumer Nicolas Bonneville (France), designer Khalid Shafar (UAE), chef-chocolatier Mathieu Davoine (France/Switzerland) and animation film director Jackie Wang (China). This new collaboration with Olivecoat (Philippines) adds the art of webcomic design to the Made of Makers™ portfolio.

REINVENTING THE 9 TH ART

While comic strips are widely assumed to be a modern pop-culture phenomenon – originating in the mid-20^th century with Francophone bandes dessinées, American superheroes and Japanese manga – the art of narrating stories through sequences of images can be traced back to prehistoric cave paintings, relief sculptures on Roman monuments and medieval illustrated manuscripts. The acknowledged father of modern comic strips is Rodolphe Töpfer, a Swiss schoolteacher, author and caricaturist, who in the mid-19^th century published sequences of sketches in boxes with the first use of speech balloons and onomatopoeia (invented words that represent sounds, such as Bam!). In 1964, the French critic Claude Beylie coined the term “9^th Art” (neuvième art) to place comics within the canon of the fine arts. This cultural recognition was later affirmed when the Louvre Museum dedicated an exhibition to “The 9^th Art” in 2009. 

Today, webcomics (also called webtoons, after the name of the leading hosting platform) are reinterpreting the art through digital screens, with serialised, vertical-scrolling comics optimised for mobile devices.

THE WEBCOMIC DESIGNER

Based in Cebu, Philippines, The Webcomic Designer Olivecoat blends classical comic codes, such as hand-drawing, symbolism and storytelling, with contemporary digital collage and experimental visuals. As a rising talent in the webcomic world, Olivecoat stands out for her blend of imaginative narratives, tender character interactions, and self-aware humour, paired with a distinctive pastel palette and carefully crafted panels.  

For Olivecoat, storytelling transcends craft – it is a means to connect, reflect, and reveal subtle human truths. Her work is deeply rooted in authentic character dynamics, inspired by stories where characters feel like real people. “I love watching shows where the character dynamics feel fleshed out, like real humans rather than characters on a page, and I think that's what drives me,” she explains. “I’m always reading feedback about how I connect with readers and make them feel seen through narratives in my work. Comments like: ‘Oh, I didn't think this was a universal experience, but it touched me deeply.’ That really motivates me as a creator.”

A TIMELESS ICON TOLD THROUGH A NEW LENS

Bringing together heritage, innovation, and artistic fusion, the Reverso webcomic commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre to Olivecoat aims to offer a fresh perspective on one of the Maison’s most iconic timepieces. Through the lens of contemporary visual storytelling, this digital project captures the essence of the Reverso’s creation while engaging new audiences across cultures and platforms.

AN ARCHIVE-INSPIRED FICTIONAL NARRATIVE: Drawing from the rich historical legacy of the Reverso, the webcomic dramatises its origin story – transforming archival facts into a compelling fictional narrative that invites broader audiences into the world of fine watchmaking.

AN EASTERN TAKE ON A WESTERN TALE: With a graphic style influenced by Eastern visual traditions such as manga, the Reverso story is reinterpreted through a fresh visual language. This East-meets-West approach creates a dynamic dialogue between two cultures, two aesthetics, and two storytelling tempos.

A WATCHMAKING WEBCOMIC: As a serialised, vertical-scrolling comic tailored for mobile platforms, the project brings the craftsmanship of watchmaking into the realm of digital-native storytelling – reviving the classical codes of the 9^th Art in a modern format.

Through this innovative blend of narrative, visual culture, and digital media, the Reverso webcomic celebrates the legacy of a watchmaking icon while speaking to a new generation of readers – one scroll at a time.

THE MAKINGS OF A GREAT STORY

Created by Olivecoat for Jaeger-LeCoultre, the Reverso webcomic exemplifies the essence of compelling storytelling, elegantly echoing the classical unities of time, place, and action.

A MOMENT IN TIME: Set against the vibrant backdrop of the roaring twenties and the landmark year 1931 – the birth of the Reverso watch – it captures a pivotal moment in history.

A SENSE OF PLACE: The narrative seamlessly transports audiences to two defining locations: the polo fields of India, where the watch’s innovative reversible case was inspired, and the renowned workshops of Le Sentier, where craftsmanship and precision bring the vision to life.

DEFINING CHARACTERS: Anchored by compelling characters – César de Trey, the visionary entrepreneur, and Jacques-David LeCoultre, the master watchmaker – the webcomic tells a timeless tale of creativity, collaboration, and enduring legacy.

This fusion of icon, narrative, and heritage creates a storytelling experience that honors both the art of comics and the spirit of the Reverso.

Olivecoat’s webcomic REVERSO will be published online for the public on October 17, 2025, and will be reproduced in printed book format to be offered by Jaeger-LeCoultre as a gift to selected clients and collectors.

“We are delighted to collaborate with The Webcomic Designer Olivecoat,” says Jérôme Lambert, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “She is a perfect fit for the Made of Makers™ programme, as she brings instinctive, self-taught mastery to her craft, reimagining classical techniques through a contemporary lens. Her commitment to timeless aesthetics and refined storytelling resonates deeply with our values at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s – making her a natural creative voice for the programme and its celebration of craftsmanship and innovation.”

• Inspired by the 7^th Art: reviving the earliest spark of cinema by reinterpreting the ‘phenakistiscope’ through contemporary animation and poetic symbolism 
• Jackie Wang: an exclusive collaboration with the Chinese animation film director, known for blending hand-drawn animation with emotional nuance, cross-cultural depth, and refined visual storytelling
• ‘Drawn in Time’: a curated series of five intricately crafted discs, each depicting a unique narrative of feminine strength and evolution and paying tribute to the Rendez-Vous collection

Jaeger-LeCoultre showcases the latest artistic collaboration under its Made of Makers™ programme at ‘The Dream Shaper’ exhibition in Shanghai. Commissioned from Chinese independent animation director Jackie Wang, the hypnotic artwork ‘Drawn in Time’ pays homage to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s iconic Rendez-Vous collection, embodying feminine elegance and craftsmanship through a mesmerizing choreography of stars and precision mechanics.

PUSHING FURTHER THE BOUNDARIES OF CLASSICAL ARTS

The Made of Makers™ programme draws a parallel between the worlds of horology and art, fostering collaborations with artists, designers, and craftsmen from disciplines outside watchmaking, who share the Maison’s values of creativity, expertise, and precision. The programme challenges the perception of classical arts as static or bound to the past, instead emphasising their continuous reinvention and honouring them as a leading source of creativity today. Just as today’s classics were once seen as radical at their inception, the Made of Makers™ programme explores how traditional forms and techniques can be reinvented through new materials and media, offering a fresh perspective on the dialogue between past and present. Like the watchmakers of La Grande Maison, these artists respect tradition as a foundation for creativity, while pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons, highlighting how both watchmaking and classical art express human creativity, reflect the culture of an era and trigger emotions.

To date, the Made of Makers™ community has embraced the worlds of contemporary visual art, gastronomy, music and perfumery – with artists including Zimoun (Switzerland), Michael Murphy (USA), Guillaume Marmin (France), lettering artist Alex Trochut (Spain/USA), pastry chef Nina Métayer (France), mixologist Matthias Giroud (France), digital media artist Yiyun Kang (Korea), musician TØKIO M¥ERS (UK), multi-media artist Brendi Wedinger (USA), Chef Himanshu Saini (India), street light-painter Roy Wang (China), perfumer Nicolas Bonneville (France), designer Khalid Shafar (UAE) and chef-chocolatier Mathieu Davoine (France/Switzerland). This new collaboration with animation film director Jackie Wang (China) adds the art of animated artwork to the Made of Makers™ portfolio.

THE ANIMATION FILM DIRECTOR

Jaeger-LeCoultre invites guests to embark on a mesmerizing visual odyssey through its collaboration with The Animation Film Director Jackie Wang. A graduate of both the Central Academy of Fine Arts and London's Royal College of Art, Beijing-based Jackie Wang masterfully blends traditional hand-drawn techniques with contemporary storytelling. Drawing from her unique East-meets-West perspective and distinctly feminine sensibility, she captures ephemeral emotions through fluid brushstrokes and ethereal palettes. Her work sits at the intersection of reality and fantasy, creating narratives that combine visual impact with emotional depth.

For Jackie Wang, animation is more than a medium: it is a language that transcends borders, blurring the lines between memory and imagination. "Animation allows me to explore the unseen, the subtle, and the transformative," she says. "When Jaeger-LeCoultre invited me to revisit the origins of motion pictures, I saw an opportunity to breathe new life into the ‘phenakistiscope’, the very spark that ignited cinema."

Encapsulating Jackie Wang’s signature style, the artwork that she has created exclusively for La Grande Maison reinvents the classic of the 7^th art by pushing the limits of kinetic art.

'DRAWN IN TIME’

With ‘Drawn in Time’, Jackie Wang reimagines the earliest spark of cinema: the ‘phenakistiscope’, through the lens of contemporary animation and poetic symbolism. Inspired by the circular illusion that gave birth to motion pictures, she creates a hypnotic choreography of hand-drawn forms, brought to life only through movement. Birds in flight, moons, suns and blooming flowers orbit in a celestial dance: timeless symbols of freedom, renewal, and brilliance. Her animation is not only visual. It is tactile. Crafted with textures that echo watchmaking, from mother-of-pearl reflections to guilloché-inspired patterns, the piece bridges ancestral craftsmanship and digital imagination. More than a tribute to origins, ‘Drawn in Time’ is a meditation on time itself: how art moves, how emotion circulates, and how beauty emerges in motion.

Jackie Wang’s artwork comprises five intricately designed ‘phenakistiscope’ discs, each telling a distinct and artistic story of feminine strength and evolution.

THE ENCOUNTER: A peony transforms into a bird in flight, symbolizing a woman’s liberation and rebirth. Set against a starry sky with shooting stars and moon phases, it reflects the endless possibilities of unexpected moments.

THE HAND OF CREATION: Meteors burst from a woman’s palm, embodying the heritage of craftsmanship passed through generations. The design echoes Jaeger-LeCoultre’s guilloché patterns, celebrating precision and artistry.

HARMONY OF ORDER: Gears and constellations intertwine, representing the harmony between rationality and creativity. A woman’s voice, visualised through a trumpet, sings of confidence and grace.

TIMELESS SHELL: A mother-of-pearl dial, unique as every woman’s journey, captures the delicate yet resilient nature of femininity.

ETERNAL BLOOM: A golden peony blossoms endlessly, embodying everlasting vitality while honouring the Rendez-Vous collection.

Each disc rotates at 0.75 revolutions per second to create an illusion of movement. The installation alternates between static and dynamic states, inviting viewers to witness the metamorphosis of time and form. ‘Drawn in Time’ is an invitation to witness the alchemy of tradition and innovation, engaging with both centuries-old craftsmanship and contemporary animation.

“Jackie Wang’s talent, expertise and her poetic perspective add an exciting new dimension to our Made of Makers™ programme,” says Jérôme Lambert, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “Her works reveal masterful delicacy, creating perfect harmony with the feminine strength embodied in our Rendez-Vous collection. At Jaeger-LeCoultre, we strongly believe in the convergence of craftsmanship across many disciplines, and working with an artist like Jackie Wang allows us to explore uncharted territories where the worlds of kinetic art and watchmaking intersect.”

• The pursuit of precision for almost two centuries: a story of ingenuity and inventiveness told in four chapters
•  A celebration of craftsmanship and opportunities to try out key skills and join hands-on watchmaking workshops
• Art meets fine watchmaking through street light-painter Roy Wang, a collaboration under the Made of Makers programme

In the heart of Beijing this September, Jaeger-LeCoultre invites the public to discover how the pursuit of precision has advanced the art of fine watchmaking over the course of almost 200 years. Following the debut of ‘The Precision Pioneer’ at Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024 in April and its first stop in Dubai in May, Beijing is the first destination in China for the exhibition. Set in a purpose-built pavilion at WF Central in Dongcheng, ‘The Precision Pioneer’ will run from 14 September until 3 October 2024 and is open to the public free of charge.

Visitors will discover the story of precision through four major themes: The Precision of Production and Decoration, The Precision of Chronometry, The Precision of Regulating Organs and The Precision of Complications. 

The experience will be enriched by:

• Live demonstrations of key watchmaking skills, with the opportunity for visitors to participate;
•  A cinema space devoted to the video series In the Making, which takes viewers behind the scenes in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s integrated Manufacture;
•  Hypnotic artworks by street light-painter Roy Wang with live demonstrations by the artist;
• The Collectibles: fine examples of the most emblematic models of the mid-20^th century offered for sale;
• A dedicated room where visitors may touch and try on key pieces from the current collections;
• The world debut of two exceptional new high-complication watches;
• Shall guests want to further learn about the Maison, they may book a Discovery Workshop session of the Atelier d’Antoine at the WF Central Boutique.

The Pursuit of Precision – a Story of Ingenuity Told in Four Chapters

The quest for precision has particular significance at Jaeger-LeCoultre. Even before founding the Manufacture in 1833, Antoine LeCoultre was obsessed with precision and several of his inventions had a profound influence on the entire watchmaking industry. Over the decades, continuing research into precision has resulted in a series of breakthroughs, with many of the Maison’s 430 patents being awarded for its work in this field. Today, modern technological aids have turned core stages of the watch production process into an exact science; however, technology will never entirely replace the precise human gestures involved at every stage from raw metal to finished timepiece, for it is the craft of the human hand that gives a fine mechanical watch its soul.

Celebrating the magic of mechanical watchmaking and revealing the intellectual rigour and technical ingenuity that lie at its heart, ‘The Precision Pioneer’ tells the intriguing story of precision in four chapters.

The Precision of Production and Decoration tells how Antoine LeCoultre’s obsession with precision laid the foundation for the modern watchmaking industry and continues to drive Jaeger-LeCoultre almost two centuries later. The Precision of Chronometry identifies milestones in the Manufacture’s development of chronometer timepieces, from pocket watches in the 19th century, to today’s new models that are all certified under the rigorous 1000-Hour Control protocol. 

The Precision of Regulating Organs reveals the crucial role played by the regulating organ (namely, the balance wheel and hairspring) in delivering and maintaining accurate timekeeping. The Precision of Complications explores a fundamental conundrum of watchmaking: how to maintain a perfect flow of energy while adding complications that require extra bursts of energy.

A Celebration of Craftsmanship

A cinema space has been created within the exhibition, dedicated to In the Making, a series of short films that take viewers behind the scenes at Jaeger-LeCoultre’s integrated Manufacture. Visitors can immerse themselves in aspects of the craft and art of watchmaking that have particular relevance to the theme of precision. Each film focuses on a single craft, including rarely seen stages of the watchmaking process, with voice-overs that explain the artisans’ processes in their own words.

In addition, visitors can watch live demonstrations of two key skills: perlage – the decorative technique used on watch components – and movement assembly. Moreover, those who wish to try their own hand at these skills will be invited to do so.

A Hands-on Educational Journey

For those wishing to deepen their understanding of watchmaking, ‘The Precision Pioneer’ exhibition is complemented by a Discovery Workshop presented by the Atelier d’Antoine. The workshop will be held in a dedicated space inside the new Jaeger-LeCoultre flagship boutique. The boutique is located on the ground floor of WF Central, just three minutes’ walk from the exhibition, with entrances on Wangfujing Street and from inside the mall.

Focusing on precision, this Discovery Workshop presents a great opportunity to discover why precision is crucially important at every stage of the watchmaking process. Participants in this dynamic and interactive Discovery Workshop will encounter many surprises, including the rare opportunity to try a key watchmaking skill with their own hands, guided by an expert from Jaeger-LeCoultre.

 Art Meets Fine Watchmaking

A collaboration initiated by Jaeger-LeCoultre under its Made of Makers programme will be showcased as part of ‘The Precision Pioneer’. Through collaborations with artists, designers and craftsmen from disciplines outside watchmaking, Made of Makers explores the dialogue that naturally exists between horology and art. The programme has, to date, embraced the visual arts, gastronomy and music.

Expressing ‘The Precision Pioneer’ theme through intriguing visual artworks, street light-painter Roy Wang will present four works commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre.  Displayed in a specially constructed space on Wangfujing Street, three light-painting photographs and a stop-motion video will give passers-by a foretaste of the exhibition that awaits. A rising international light-painting star, Roy Wang blends traditional painterly techniques with cutting-edge technology to create pieces that transcend time and space. The artist will present live performances as he creates new light-painting works during the exhibition, which will also feature a photo-booth where visitors can try light-painting for themselves.

Visitors are invited to enrich their experience by pausing to enjoy a complementary refreshment in the Precision Atelier.

Opening Hours and Admission:

‘The Precision Pioneer’ will take place from 14 September until 3 October 2024 at The Green, WF Central in Dongcheng, Beijing and is open to the public free of charge from 11:00AM to 08.00PM from Monday – Thursday and from 10:00AM to 10:00PM from Friday – Sunday and holidays. Visitors may book guided tours on-site at the exhibition via a staff representative. Appointments for the Atelier d’Antoine Discovery Workshop should be made via a Sales Associate at the WF Central Boutique.

• Jordanian-Palestinian R&B artist Zeyne and Syrian actor Moatasem Al Nahar among the guests at the private opening night celebration of ‘The Precision Pioneer’ exhibition
• Four hypnotic light-painting artworks by Chinese urban artist Roy Wang unveiled for the first time and a menu by two Michelin-starred Chef Himanshu Saini, created exclusively for Jaeger-LeCoultre, offered to the guests
• Historic timepieces and archive materials, the star models from Watches and Wonders Geneva 2024, and the launch of a new limited-edition timepiece: the Master Grande Tradition Calibre 948

Dubai, May 7, 2024: Swiss watchmaking Maison Jaeger-LeCoultre marked a momentous occasion with the Emirati premiere of ‘The Precision Pioneer’ exhibition. This captivating showcase, hosted at ICD Brookfield Place in DIFC, invites the public to discover how the pursuit of precision has advanced the art of fine watchmaking over the course of almost 200 years.

A Dazzling Debut Event

To kick off this remarkable exhibition, Jaeger-LeCoultre was honoured to welcome the Jordanian-Palestinian R&B artist Zeyne and the Syrian actor Moatasem Al Nahar during an exclusive private opening celebration.

The Emirati film producer Abdulla Alkaabi was animating the evening as its Master of Ceremony before handing over to the renowned DJ Kaboo for the after party.

Honouring Precision

Adding to the festivities, Chinese light-painting artist Roy Wang unveiled for the first time four exclusive light-painting artworks created exclusively for La Grande Maison and performed a live light-painting show with one of his signature motives - the dragon.

Two Michelin-starred Indian chef Himanshu Saini, who created four special bites for Jaeger-LeCoultre, was also present, inviting guests to embark on a culinary journey blending ingredients of the Vallée de Joux with flavours from the subcontinent at the Precision Atelier.

Both collaborations were commissioned by Jaeger-LeCoultre under its Made of Makers programme – a series of artistic partnerships that expands the dialogue between watchmaking and other art forms.

A New Limited-Edition Timepiece Revealed

The exhibition opening was further graced by the reveal of a new interpretation of the Master Grande Tradition Calibre 948, with a green enamel dial. A uniquely artistic expression of the world-time complication uniting mechanical excellence with rare handcrafts - enamelling, guillochage and lacquering. The Universal Tourbillon makes a complete circuit around the dial in 24 hours, echoing the way that Earth spins on its axis and makes a circuit around the Sun.

A Journey Through Time and Precision

Created by Jaeger-LeCoultre as part of its mission to expand the cultural conversation around fine watchmaking, ‘The Precision Pioneer’ offers visitors a deep immersion into the art and science of precision in fine watchmaking.

From the palladium hairspring to the first multi-axis tourbillon or from the anti-magnetic cage to the Duometre concept, visitors are invited to embark on a quest for precision divided in four chapters: The Precision of Production, The Precision of Chronometry, The Precision of Regulating Organs and The Precision of Complications.

As visitors journey through the Story of Precision, they will enjoy exploring the depths of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s rich heritage, craftsmanship and pioneering spirit.

A Celebration of Craftsmanship and a Hands-on Experience

A viewing room within the exhibition is dedicated to the 180 skills mastered within Jaeger-LeCoultre’s fully integrated Manufacture, showcasing essential aspects of the art and craft of watchmaking that have particular relevance to the theme of precision.

‘In the Making’ is devoted to a series of short films that take viewers behind the scenes, each focusing on a single craft: design, production, finishing, assembly and ornamentation. In addition, visitors can watch live demonstrations of two key skills: perlage and movement assembly.

To offer a deeper understanding of watchmaking, ‘The Precision Pioneer’ provides hands-on educational workshops at the Atelier d'Antoine.

Location, Opening Hours and Admission

The Precision Pioneer is open free of charge to the public until May 19, offering the opportunity to experience craftsmanship and watchmaking in a new cultural context. Presented at ICD Brookfield Place in DIFC, opening hours are: 11am until 10pm on weekdays; 10am to 10pm on weekends. Guests will be able to walk in or may book guided visits online at: https://bit.ly/PrecisionPioneerDubaiVisit. Discovery Workshop sessions at the Atelier d'Antoine are available to all visitors by appointment.

• A modern twist to ancient traditions: the collision of light and photography
• Three exploratory photographs and one stop-motion video made with light-painting
• The challenge of scaling down a life-sized format to the tiny size of a wristwatch

Jaeger-LeCoultre unveils the latest collaboration under its Made of Makers programme – a series of artworks created by Chinese street light-painter Roy Wang. In tribute to the pursuit of precision that has been a central value of La Grande Maison since its founding almost 200 years ago, the commissioned works – three light-painting photographs and a stop-motion video – will make their public debut on the opening day of ‘The Precision Pioneer’ exhibition in Dubai, which runs from 7–19 May. 

Expanding the Dialogue Between Watchmaking and the Arts

Through a series of collaborations with artists, designers and craftsmen from disciplines outside watchmaking, Made of Makers explores and extends the dialogue that naturally exists between horology and art. The programme focuses on artists who share Jaeger-LeCoultre’s values of creativity, expertise and precision, exploring new forms of artistic expression through different and often unexpected materials and media. Like the watchmakers of La Grande Maison, these artists and innovators have a deep respect for the past as their creative foundation and a springboard for their trailblazing work. To date, the Made of Makers community has embraced the worlds of contemporary art, gastronomy and music – with artists including Zimoun (Switzerland), Michael Murphy (USA),  Guillaume Marmin (France), lettering artist Alex Trochut (Spain/USA), pastry chef Nina Métayer (France), mixologist Matthias Giroud (France), digital media artist Yiyun Kang (Korea), musician Tøkio Myers (UK), multi-media artist Brendi Wedinger (USA) and, in 2024, Chef Himanshu Saini (India) and Roy Wang (China).

The Street Light-Painter: ephemeral moments captured for posterity

Rapidly gaining international recognition for his dynamic and visually arresting works, Roy Wang is breaking new ground in the use of light and movement in photography. Born in Beijing, his unusual career path has provided the life experiences that inform his work: after completing university in 2009 he left China to become a professional rugby player in Japan. Travelling around his new country, he began to carry a camera everywhere and taught himself the techniques of photography through constant practice.

One day, he chanced upon a black-and-white photograph from the 1949 collaboration between Pablo Picasso and the pioneering Life magazine photographer Gjon Mili, in which Picasso uses a small flashlight to sketch in mid-air, captured by Mili using a slow shutter speed. The image had a profound impact on Roy Wang and that very night, he went out with a flashlight and made his first attempt at light-painting.

Unlike in traditional photography and figurative art, in which the artist endeavours to capture the effect of light falling on the subject, for Roy Wang, light is the medium that creates the subject out of dark nothingness. Often set against urban backgrounds, his light-paintings combine references from Chinese culture and mythology with pop culture iconography and elements of calligraphy.

The Pursuit of the Unknown at the Intersection of Technology and Art

Since the dawn of time, people have been fascinated by the effect of light against the dark night sky – picking up burning sticks from a fire and sketching patterns against the void. However, it wasn’t until the advent of photography that it became possible to create enduring works of art in this way. In essence, light-painting is the art of ‘drawing’ images with a moving light, and capturing the process on camera with a single, long exposure – usually a minute or more.

Working at night, Roy Wang uses darkness as his canvas and light as his paintbrush, facing the camera and shaping his images in the air with no visual guidance. (He sees what he has created only in the resulting photograph.) Rather, he must rely on spatial memory, muscle memory and imagination. He credits his years as a professional sportsman for helping to develop the deep muscle memory that he employs in his art. The artist dresses in black while creating the work, becoming absorbed by the surrounding darkness and invisible in the finished image.

“I describe my art as the pursuit of the unknown because I must work towards an imagined result – I can’t see what I’m making until after it has been captured by the camera,” says the artist. “The process is very fast; it takes only a minute or two, but the planning is very lengthy. I must envision the image, the exact gestures that I will make to ‘paint’ it, the invisible ‘frame’ that must contain those gestures, and the perfect positioning of my body and the light source in relation to the frame and camera. Part of the magic of light-painting is that the light effects vanish as soon as they are created, yet they live forever through the photographs.”

Four Hypnotic Artworks: the precision of fine watchmaking expressed through light

The four art pieces that Roy Wang has created for Jaeger-LeCoultre – a stop motion video and three experimental photographs – presented even greater challenges. Asked to scale his work down to the tiny dimensions of watchmaking, required major technical adaptation. First, to create patterns of the desired finesse, he had to develop completely new, miniaturised light-tools – most of which are as small as a movement component. Second, he had to develop entirely different gestures: rather than the sweeping arm movements and whole-body motion that he normally uses, the artist had to master tiny movements of the hand and wrist – more akin to those of a watchmaker – with every gesture perfectly judged and precisely controlled. Along with meticulous planning this required a great deal of practice, until the new gestures became almost second nature. In many ways, the artistic process mirrors the preparation and precision, the technical knowledge and artistic sensibility inherent in every Jaeger-LeCoultre timepiece.

For the three photographs and stop-motion video, Roy Wang has combined elements drawn from Chinese tradition with his experience of visiting the Manufacture in the Vallée de Joux and discovering watchmaking in depth – particularly the different aspects of precision that he observed. In his signature style, he plays with shape, colour and dynamic lines to create visually captivating, one-of-a-kind works.

•  龘 (dá – Flying Dragon) pays tribute to the iconic Reverso
• 叒 (ruò – All the Best) celebrates the intricacies of the Duometre watch calibre
• 燚 (yì – Burning Flame) pays homage to a 19^th-century Jaeger-LeCoultre pocket watch

For the stop motion video, The Dragon of Time ( 时光绘龙 ), the artist combines his light-painting skills with stop motion animation – the technique in which the subject is manipulated between photographs shot at dozens of frames per second, to give the appearance of movement once the frames are spliced together. The Dragon of Time employs one of Roy Wang’s signature motifs, the dragon, which takes viewers on a fantastical journey through the Jaeger-LeCoultre Manufacture in the Vallée de Joux.

“With his light-painting, Roy Wang brings an original and exciting dimension to our Made of Makers programme,” says Catherine Rénier, CEO of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “Founded on our deep belief in the convergence of craftsmanship across many disciplines and cultures, Made of Makers celebrates the strong affinity that exists between the artistic world and our Maison. To collaborate with an artist like Roy Wang, who is constantly expanding his artistic vision, allows us to explore uncharted territories where precision, creativity and passion intersect.”