“Exploring the Space Between” : Exhibition in Singapore – Marina Bay Sands Boutique

Source:  Images and content by Vacheron Constantin

• An exhibition dedicated to the art of exploration, 6 – 1 3 May at Vacheron Constantin Singapore Marina Bay Sands Boutique 
• 10 photographs from the American explorer and photographer Cory Richards

May 2022, Singapore – Vacheron Constantin puts a spotlight on the art of exploration as the Maison unveils American photographer Cory Richards’ art exhibition, “Exploring the Space Between”, at the Vacheron Constantin Marina Bay Sands boutique in the heart of Singapore. The photographs and selected Overseas timepieces will be on display until May 13, 2022. 

In 2018, driven by passion, the pursuit of innovation and beauty, and the same openness to the world, Cory Richards joined the select group of personalities chosen by Vacheron Constantin to embody its «One of Not Many» communications campaign. 
Expressing an exceptional universe, One of Not Many embodies the Maison’s creative collaborations with artistic talents acknowledged for their expertise and their steadfast quest for excellence in their respective fields of pursuit. 

A Unique Perspective 
For Cory Richards, professional photographer and long-distance explorer, the world is brimming with beauty. Among his many journeys, the Himalayas occupy a special place in the heart of this experienced mountaineer, who in 2019 chose a Vacheron Constantin Overseas Dual Time prototype watch on an Everest expedition, enabling him to keep track of the time in Nepal and at home in the United States. In honor of the mutual admiration, Vacheron Constantin created an oscillating weight on the back of the prototype watch engraved with one of Cory Richard’s Everest photographs. The prototype was later auctioned off for charity in support of a project close to Cory Richard’s heart.
 

“Exploring the Space Between” 
Cory Richard’s “Exploring the Space Between”, is comprised of ten carefully curated photographs spanning twenty years of the photographer’s expeditions around the globe. At times stunning and raw, the exhibit’s awe-inspiring mountain shots in Switzerland, Pakistan and Antarctica take us inside an alpinist’s journey, while portraitures from Nepal, India, Abu Dhabi, Peru and the U.S.A. bring a powerful message of shared humanity to the surface. The show turns the expected notion of exploration on its head. In the spirit of the Maison’s dedication to openness to the world, the photographs on display were selected by the artist to capture moments and people from his expeditions across the world’s seven continents, as well as the emotion, experience, and subtlety that exists in the minutes between those expeditions that change our perspective on the world. 

Artistic Exploration 
Upon stepping through the doors of the Marina Bay Sands boutique, these images transport viewers to another time and space. Stepping into the first private room, captured by Cory Richards in 2014, shows two Khoisan Tribesmen in a dry desert scene in Botswana, and the image features an indescribably blue ocean with an 80-year-old spear fisherman, seemingly still in movement, photographed during a trip to Wakatobi, Indonesia. Into the next room, visitors are met with breathtaking Alpinist scenes taken by Cory Richards from around the world. One central photograph taken in Antarctica features a climber seemingly floating in a sea of moving clouds, the artwork celebrates risk and physical exploration in the most traditional of terms alongisde the display of Overseas watches illustratrating the Maison’s expertise in precision timekeeping for exploration.
 

Technical Innovation – A Foundation for Exploration 
At the turn of the 19th century, Vacheron Constantin produced remarkable breakthroughs in terms of anti-magnetism and water-resistance. Indeed, in the 1880s, the company incorporated palladium into its watch production to resist magnetic disturbances. The protection of watch movements against infiltration (dust and humidity) has always been a challenge for watchmakers. 

Technical improvements to the watch cases allowed, from the late 19th century on, to describe certain pieces as “hermetic” or “impervious”. The Vacheron Constantin archives mention manufacturing hermetic steel watches since 1895. 

It was in the early 20th century, with the development of the wristwatch, which was often subjected to extreme conditions, that the term water-resistant was used to describe watches impervious to all water infiltration. By the late 1920s, the improvements of techniques and materials allowed watches to be submerged and subjected to pressures that increase significantly with depth. The 4190 water-resistant model of Vacheron Constantin, with its stainless steel case and bracelet, was presented to the public in 1941, while the first water-resistant chronograph of the Maison, model 4305, also in steel, was created in 1943. 

Many models were created in the years that followed, including the “222”, which was water resistant to a depth of 120 meters, and the “Overseas” in 1996, which is available in several versions, all of which are submersible to 150 meters. 

In 2022, Vacheron Constantin presented a contemporary re-edition of the 37 mm-diameter yellow gold 222 «Jumbo”: an iconic timepiece from the 1970s, which will also be showcased alongside the exhibition from 6 – 13 May 2022. The 222 was an emblematic «sporty-chic» model launched in 1977 that marked a turning point in Vacheron Constantin’s classic creations. With its monobloc flat-based tonneau-shaped case topped by a fluted bezel, this timepiece with integrated bracelet displayed a robust, functional and sporty spirit with elegance stemming from the purity of its lines and the finesse of its curves. This reedition in the Historiques collection is faithful to the original model, albeit with a few adjustments in the interests of comfort and enhanced reliability.

—————————————————————————————

Sum-up 

From 6 May – 13 May, Vacheron Constantin will host “Exploring the Space Between” at the Marina Bay Sands boutique in the heart of Singapore. This exhibition dedicated to the beauty of risk, the unexpected, and even the seemingly mundane moments during and between achievements features the art of exploration through the eye of the American photographer Cory Richards as well as a rare assortment of Overseas timepieces from the Maison’s collection. The show shines light onto the critical and functional elements that timekeeping has held in the world of exploration for centuries, and the ties that bind all of us as we explore the space in between humanity’s never-ending quest for discovery, beauty and love.