2023-12-11 16:04:50
Hom Nguyen welcomed us into his workshop in the Paris suburbs to present his collaboration with the Franck Muller watchmaker. On his wrist? A « Crazy Hours » in his image – colorful, eccentric and unpredictable.
Is it a symbol for an autodidact like you to collaborate with the Franck Muller watchmaking company, founded in 1991?
Hom Nguyen: The symbol comes rather from the fact that at the age of 22, I bought my first watch on eBay: it was a Master Banker from Franck Muller, which cost me, I think, 10,000 francs. Then the day came when I was too short of money to keep her. I was then working on rue des Canettes, in 6e, I made the patinas for Berluti shoes. I sold it to the owner of the pizzeria across the street for the price I bought it for and a year’s worth of pizza! The watch was very rare, with complications. We made the deal, I gained weight, then I forgot the watch.
Have you bought it since?
At 48, I found the owner of the pizzeria, bought it from him at the price and with a canvas. Then I gave the watch to my assistant, Hervé. It was a few months later that Franck Muller called me to do this partnership; I said yes on the spot!
So you already had a certain passion for watchmaking?
Yes, it made me dream. I have always loved watchmaking for the beauty of the piece and, certainly at the time, for its functionality.
Technically, how did the collaboration take place?
It’s a carte blanche. There are two models. The Tourbillon Double Mystery is a unique model, for which I took up the challenge of drawing on it. It was impressive, and, moreover, my gesture was not straightforward, but that’s what was really interesting to note. This one-shot belongs to me, but we decided to donate it to NGOs. The other part is, this time, a partnership, where I wanted to redesign Franck Muller’s Crazy Hours, a watch that corresponds to my life, crazy but unpretentious, to the unstructured clock like my temporality. We read the time for pleasure.
Is that one of the ones you’re wearing?
Yes ! I like watches that are flashy, but not ostentatious or bling-bling. I wear it all the time, it’s scribbled on, the numbers are disproportionate…
How long does it take to create these models?
Two years. I went to visit the house, I feel at home there. Watchmaking is a crazy world. Lots of people handling tiny things that you can’t take on video, because it’s forbidden.
More and more collaborations are taking place between artists and watchmaking companies.
The duo brings more energy and it seems to me very fruitful to link that of technique and that of artistry, this synthesis is even the heart of watchmaking.
You also collaborated with McLaren to create a unique Elva model. Another crazy world?
I had the chance to go to Woking, England, McLaren’s technology center. It’s a flying saucer. I had asked to work alone, so there was only Hervé, who put on the music, and me, next to Richard Mille’s car, the F1 cars of Alonso and Hamilton, and cameras everywhere. I had 72 hours to work. It was one-shota unique model – that’s what made me want it.
Isn’t it also the fact of entering a prestigious world that appeals to you?
Emblems, symbols, yes – it’s huge, you mark your name!
Very early on, you used social networks to make yourself known. How do you perceive the massive arrival of AI in art?
For the moment, it doesn’t really affect us. We see that AI can draw, but the technique is very linear and flawless. We’re going to have big problems, but for now it doesn’t affect anyone.
The key moments of your career?
I did a work for the Abbé Pierre foundation, in 2021, which touched me a lot. Marriage with my wife who assists me on all my projects and the birth of my children, also, because it changed me, I became more human. The Maison des femmes du 93, too, which I defend for X reasons, to help finance projects for women who are in shelters and who have experienced a lot of suffering. The exhibition in support of the injured and bereaved families at Les Invalides… France allowed me to do what I do today, so it was important for me to remember where I came from. This France saved me from Vietnam where I arrived with my mother. I am proud to participate in projects of humanitarian and symbolic size for France. A little contradictory in relation to luxury, we can ask ourselves: is he overplaying it?
And that’s the case ?
I thought about it. I questioned myself. But I said yes to these partnerships, because they are challenges. Are you drawing on a car worth two or three million? It’s crazy, because you can’t go back.
Your upcoming projects?
The Franck Muller project, because it will take a long time to deploy, with large stores in Paris, Dubai, Mexico, Hong Kong… The next few months will be intense! But it’s also just fun.
Franck Muller Vanguard Crazy Hours x Hom Nguyen
Par Alexis Lacourte
Photo Arnaud Juhérian
1702320184
#Hom #Nguyen #Reading #time #pleasure