SWATCH X OLAF HAJEK
2014-03-18The most recent contributor to the Swatch Art Special collection is the internationally renowned German artist and illustrator, Olaf Hajek. Working with Swatch to create the new work, Olaf Hajek said, “It was a challenge to transfer my artwork into the design of the watches … I loved the idea to create this couple.” NATURE MAN and FLOWERHEAD form a fascinating couple indeed: “Both are the perfect match to express my personal style and taste.”
The watch FLOWERHEAD takes up a fascinating series of Olaf Hajek’s recent paintings, vibrant portraits of black women. The dial presents the face of a black woman clothed in a lush tangle of plants and flowers. The idea, said the artist, was to create an image of luxury, opulence, and beauty which has nothing to do with wealth and prosperity. The beautiful black woman “is wearing the idea of the whole of nature on her head—the beauty as well as the birth and death and the evanescence.”
The second of Olaf Hajek’s two works for Swatch is NATURE MAN. Like its partner, the work features a face on the dial, this time a formal portrait of a blue-green man gazing into the distance from a surreal landscape dense with spiky plants and brightly colored flowers. On both timepieces, curling leaves that appear to float above the faces serve as hour and minute hands.
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