To launch the new Hermès Cut watches in style, Hermès has called on the talents of New York-based visual artist and architect Erin O’Keefe. The sculptural, colourful world O’Keefe has created for Hermès at this year’s Watches and Wonders by the sharp profile of the new watch collection, its clean lines translated by the artist into an immersive set.
‘As an artist I’m drawn to clear form, so the profile and geometry of the Hermès Cut is very exciting to me,’ O’Keefe tells us. ‘In the project, I wanted to take the sculptural objects that I use in my work and explore their impact at a large scale. It was interesting to think about creating a line, a connection between the form of the watch, and this immersive environment of form that unfolds as one moves through the space. They may operate at two very different scales, but they are absolutely part of the same vocabulary.’
It makes a sensual foil for the geometrical play of the watch design, which marries a round silhouette with the simple perfection of the circle. A celebration of textures and colours, from the satin-brushed and polished case to the luminscient Arabic numerals and rubber straps in rainbow hues, bring an easy breezy wearability O’Keefe nods to in her design.
‘When I began working on the project, I was interested in creating an experience that takes us out of time, if that’s possible - a moment to bathe in pure form and colour,’ adds O’Keefe. ‘The installation is a kind of fantasy - a forest of these very diverse forms, and the ribbons of colour that weave through the space. The process was a pleasure. There were certainly many decisions to make along the way, but there was a natural flow to the evolution of the project. Using a series of scale models to develop and refine the installation was something I haven’t had the opportunity to do in my work, so that was a revelation.’
