If a visit to the famed "valley of the watchmakers" in Switzerland's Vallee de Joux is a bit out of your league, Audemars Piguet's installation in the Collector's Lounge at this year's Art Basel Hong Kong was a decent stand-in, bringing springtime at its factory to you.
Soft tinkling sounds, the clang of metal upon metal, the whooshing melody of the wind through the hills — all float entrancingly along the surface of a moss wall (which, by the way, is real). The sounds of ticking clocks, insects, weather and landscapes were taken from the Audemars Piguet manufacture and surrounding locales. Walk past the enormous stones and you'll enter the lab, where a centrepiece of historic and gorgeous female timepieces dating from 1900 to 2015 are on display. Artisans — from enamellists to jewellers — work their magic to show the process behind creating the mechanical marvels that might just out-tick mankind.
Unsurprisingly, the luxury Swiss watch brand parallels the art world. After all, its timepieces require craftsmanship, artistry, innovation and technical mastery — just as a fine art piece would. In its third year as a global associate partner of Art Basel, Audemars Piguet's "Mineral Lab" is an updated version of 2014's masculine, dark and wintry lounge.
This year, internationally acclaimed French designer Mathieu Lehanneur returns to shift the season, making the stand a green, breathing wonder that beckons passers-by inside. Paired with a new sound work by French artist Alexandre Joly, the stand captures the spirit of Audemars Piguet and Switzerland, bringing together the best from the worlds of design, nature, science and technology.
We speak with the two innovative artists about their craft and work philosophies.
Mathieu Lehanneur
A star of the international design scene, Lehanneur's works are permanent staples at prestigious art meccas such as New York's MoMA, the Design Museum Gent, in Belgium, and the Centre Georges Pompidou, in France. He has also designed for world-class brands such as Issey Miyake, Veuve Clicquot, Cartier, Poltrona Frau, alongside projects such as the Saint Hilaire church in Melle and Paris's Diaconesses Hospital.
How do you connect with such a wide range of products?
Mathieu Lehanneur.
I don't want to be a specialist of one typology or style. It's just like the friends and family in your life — all the people are different and you want to love them and interact with each in different ways, and my work is exactly the same.
I want to avoid working with the same recipes and always force my team and myself to reinvent. Right now, we are working on designing a boat for a new Italian brand. I've never designed a boat before, but I use this lack of knowledge as a driving force because when you're not a specialist in the field, you're like a kid and you're going to ask some naive questions.
You work has such a grand scale, do you have limits?
My main limit is if a client asks me to use the same concept or approach with something I've already done before. The newer the challenge, the more exciting it is for me. In my job, nobody really knows where the design starts or when it's supposed to stop. I have no boundaries in my job and will whoosh from one thing to another. Going to new territories I discover new things, but it's all the same in the end. My main focus is not the object; my focus is improving living conditions for human beings.
Your work draws from the fields of design, art and science. Do you conduct a lot of research?
I constantly have to be aware of what happens around me in different fields, but every new product or challenge forces me to discover new ways of doing things. Before working with Audemars Piguet, I never had worked on stones. As soon as I got the idea, I had to find the right process to make it a reality.
We found how to duplicate stones in the science field, because this was a process used by archaeologists in their research of old civilisations. They put silicone on the soil and then peeled it off to get a print. Ours looks exactly like the stones near the factory, but are made of powdered stone combined with resin. It would be pretty stupid to bring the real ones here because they weigh two tonnes each! We transformed reality, allowing it to travel around the world.
Where you do get your inspiration?
It's important for me to understand the history and DNA of each brand, but another thing I'm interested in and inspired by is new research, new materials and new knowledge. Every day we learn new things about our brains. [I learn] from my kids, too. Kids are completely without any references in their minds. They lead by their instincts, needs and desires, which I like to watch.
I try to make installations or products that do not need an explanation. In this installation, the first thing people do is touch the stone to check if its real or fake, and they smell the wall. If you bring a kid, they do the exact same thing. I try to connect myself with this instinct, because in the end, you and I and all of us are kids.
Alexandre Joly
This French artist's work centres around creating sounds, which serve to change the dynamics of space and sculpt interactions between objects. Using tiny speakers called "piezos" to produce sounds, Joly has been recording ambient noise in natural settings and mixing it with electronic frequencies for almost 20 years.
How did you start working with sound?
When I first started to make art, I was very interested in mixing material and sound. I learned everything myself when I experimented in my studio. I feel completely free to play with sounds even though I have no musical background — I wasn't afraid to take out a guitar and do things with it. I was interested in vibrations and started to use very low frequencies to produce vibrations on water or on different materials.
I did experimental music, too, so I used different electronic machines to invent my own systems. I play with motors and fans — everything is possible with all these toys. When I have my concerts, I use a motor and turn the mic on. It only catches the electricity that is in the air. When you mix the magnetics of different objects with synthesisers and rhythm, you get electronic music with an archaic vibe.
How did you make sound fit into your artwork in the past, when the technology that exists today wasn't around?
The piezo is actually an old invention. The first speakers that I used were from birthday cards — I used to pull them out. Then I discovered the piezo disc. After that, I used 10 and it got interesting. I've used up to 50,000 piezo speakers for larger installations to cover all the walls in one house. There are many possibilities to make different things with the same system — I always come across a new or strange way to do things.
What's the process of recording sounds?
The minimum is half a day. When I find the right place, I prepare my equipment, start it up and leave. I come back after a few hours and listen for any surprises. Sometimes there are accidents, but those accidents are sometimes good stuff I can use. For Audemars Piguet, I wanted it to sound airy, not like a narrative with a concrete sound. The kinds of sounds I like are ones you cannot feel a beginning or end to.
What do you suggest to people who buy installations with sounds?
My work also works silently, because I know we cannot live constantly with the same sounds. I always say to never leave it on all the time, because it will change your perspective and you will get tired of it. Reserve a particular moment for turning it on, such as when your friends come over or you want some peace. Sometimes I also propose that a collector reactivate the piece. I really like the idea of a project that isn't fixed, that it's still alive and connected to my emotions. Maybe I'll go back six months later with a new sound for it.
Alexandre Joly.
