Contemporary artist Miyajima Tatsuo continues to communicate his own concepts through LED digital displays. He continues to create with three concepts in mind: "It keeps changing," "It connects with everything," and "It continues forever," and this time he chose Bulgari's Octo Finissimo as his subject. But why did an artist known for digital expression turn to an analog watch? We talk about what Miyajima Tatsuo wanted to communicate through the Bulgari Octo Finissimo Miyajima Tatsuo Japan Limited Edition Model.
Text by Masayuki Hirota (Chronos-Japan)
Born in Tokyo in 1957, contemporary artist Toshiaki Nakamura graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts in 1986 and attracted attention with his work "Sea of Time," exhibited at the 88 Venice Biennale's "Aperto 88" young artists' section. Known for his LED digital counters that change numbers from 1 to 9, he expresses the cycle of life and death by deliberately leaving the number "0" hidden and turning the LEDs dark. His representative works include "The 30 Year Clock" (1987) and "Mega Death" (1999). In recent years, he has also been focusing on socially engaged projects, hoping to commemorate the victims of the Great East Japan Earthquake and preserve the memory of the disaster.
Expressing the "eternity of life" on the dial of an analog watch
Masamasa Hirota (hereinafter H): What was the reason behind the collaboration with Bulgari?
Tatsuo Miyajima (hereinafter M): This project was proposed to me by Bulgari. Bulgari is a brand with a deep knowledge of art, and has collaborated with artists such as Anish Kapoor, who is a close friend of mine. So I thought they might understand the concept I was thinking of. So I decided to give it a try.
H: Miyajima-san, you have been using digital expression since "The 30 Year Clock" in 1987. However, this time you chose the Bulgari Octo Finissimo, an analog watch, as your subject. Given your career, this is unlikely, isn't it?
MSince the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 3.11th, I've been made to face the reality that we live in a world of uncertainty, a world that is beyond our control. I've always incorporated uncertainty into my work, but recently I've started to bring it to the forefront. The event I held in Ginza the other day was also analog. Digital displays were changed by human hands. This is completely analog.
H:You mean the exhibition "Keep Changing," where digital numbers are changed by hand?
M:That's right. Changing something with human hands is the ultimate analog thing, right? And that's when Bvlgari approached me. I've always thought about the "time of life" in a broader sense, rather than just a watch. I was thinking about time in a much larger framework, like human life, connecting the past to the future, rather than just a watch. But a watch is something that is close to our daily lives. With that watch, we mark each minute of our lives. I thought that an analog watch would connect with the "eternity of life" that I'd always thought about. So I decided to try this collaboration with an analog watch.
A conceptual model with a seven-segment digital display in the center of the dial. The numbers can appear as either "1" or "2" depending on the angle you look at them from. Automatic winding (Cal. BVL138). 36 jewels. 21,600 vph. Power reserve approximately 60 hours. Ti case (diameter 40mm, thickness 5.00mm). Water resistant to 30m. Limited to 120 pieces in Japan. 2,024,000 yen (tax included).
Various interpretations of "Octo" and "8"
HWhen I heard about the collaboration with Miyajima-san, I imagined something with digital numbers embedded in the indexes. However, this watch has the number "8" in the center of the dial.
M: "Octo" means an octagon. All the digital numbers I use in my work are based on the number "8." The number "8" encompasses everything. I thought the concept of Octo and the number "8" that I use were a perfect match. So I stuck the number "8" onto the dial.
H:Octo and the number "8" certainly match.
M:The way you read the numbers on an automatic model changes depending on the angle from which you view it. Depending on the person looking at it, and the reflection of light, some may read a "1" or a "2." I want people to think about the various infinities of time and the infinity of life as they watch the time. On the other hand, minute repeaters allow you to see the movement directly. They have a dual structure in which you see the watch itself through the figure "8," that is, through time. I want people to feel infinity within themselves, to feel the universe, through the watch.
HWhen did you come up with the idea of putting digital numbers in the middle of the dial and leaving it up to people to interpret?
MI submitted three or four different ideas to Bulgari. However, when collaborating with a partner, they have a specific purpose and role in mind. The design must reflect that purpose. The three I submitted earlier were rejected because they didn't fully fulfill the role of a watch. However, this design was somehow manageable, and it became a common thread between me and Bulgari. A watch is something that is made by hand, with a microscopic world in mind. So even the slightest difference in design affects the movement. It has to work as a watch, and the repeater has to make a sound. Many elements are intertwined. So I worked with Fabrizio Bonamassa Stigliani, who was in charge of design. He told me to leave it to him. So I came up with the concept and left it to him.
