While looking for a sound maker, Jaeger-LeCoultre searched no further than Swiss artist Zimoun, known for his reverberating installations.
Throughout 2020, the long-established watchmaker has paid homage to its legacy of chiming timepieces and the sounds of nature in the Vallée de Joux in the Swiss Jura Mountains.
The year-long celebration under The Sound Maker theme is marked by Zimoun's new sound sculpture installation, which will be exhibited around the world, following its debut in China.
The Bern-based artist employs simple raw materials and repurposed industrial components to create complex and evocative tapestries of sound and movement that redefine traditional ideas of sculpture, space, and time.
"I'm interested in sound as an architectonic element to create space but also in sound which somehow inhabits a room and interacts with it. I work with three-dimensional sound structures, with spatial experiences and the exploration of sound, material and space -- and perception," he said.
Zimoun names his works after the list of the materials used in each installation. For the collaboration with Jaeger-LeCoultre, he created 1944 Prepared Dc-Motors, Mdf Panels 72 x 72cm, Metal Discs Ø 8cm, 2020.
1944 Prepared Dc-Motors, Mdf Panels 72 x 72 cm, Metal Discs Ø 8cm, 2020.
As a source of the sound, the almost 2,000 thin metal discs are, in fact, watchmaking components obtained from the Manufacture Jaeger-LeCoultre. Connected to the motors by wires, the discs rotate against MDF panels similar to how a coin falls on the ground. This friction produces a highly complex sound structure and the movement creates a flickering surface.
"Since all the wires holding the metal discs are bent by hand, each is slightly different, causing the metal discs to rotate at different angles or speeds. This creates a complex individuality that affects both the visual and acoustic properties of the work," Zimoun explained.
"The sound becomes very complex and is in constant change in microstructures. It's similar to the sound of a river, which never sounds exactly the same. Visually, a similar complexity arises … resulting in a kind of flickering, similar to the effect we know from water surfaces."
His latest works mimic the sounds of nature and the reflection of sunlight on the water in representing the soundscape of the tranquil Vallée de Joux and Lac de Joux, which for 150 years has inspired Jaeger‑LeCoultre's chiming calibres.
Swiss artist Zimoun.
The company was founded by Antoine LeCoultre in 1833 in Le Sentier, a small village in the Vallée de Joux. After the creation of its first minute repeater in 1870, more than 200 chiming watch calibres have been developed by the brand.
How Zimoun creatively transforms raw materials with precision for the sound sculpture installation shares similarities with how its watchmakers construct chiming movements and in the process have raised the bar in acoustic quality.
1944 Prepared Dc-Motors, Mdf Panels 72 x 72 cm, Metal Discs Ø 8cm, 2020.
