“Time Imprints”: Tracing Traditions”: An exhibition in partnership with Crafts on Peel Hong Kong

Source:  Images and content by Vacheron Constantin

• Since its founding in 1755, Vacheron Constantin has devoted great importance to art and culture, in safeguarding heritage and in passing on of know-how and craftsmanship
• This year, the Maison will partner with Crafts on Peel Hong Kong for a year-long project to preserve, perpetuate and innovate local traditional crafts in Hong Kong
• “Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” will be the first part of the series with an aim to foster a creative dialogue to reimagine local crafts heritage in Hong Kong

Vacheron Constantin launches “Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong. First part of a series, the exhibition will mark an exciting start of the Maison’s new artistic and cultural project piloting in Hong Kong. In partnership with Crafts on Peel, a charitable organization in Hong Kong, this new initiative will make an effort to preserve, perpetuate and innovate local traditional crafts which, might have humbly appeared in our everyday lives without us noticing, but are now slowly fading away in the tides of time and modernization. The project aims to foster a creative dialogue to reimagine our cultural heritage, to highlight the essence of craftsmanship and folk wisdom in the disappearing local crafts, and to inspire local traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans in passing-on and exchanging their know-how with innovative thinking.

Vacheron Constantin attachment to the world of art and culture
Since its founding in 1755, Vacheron Constantin remains the world’s oldest watch Manufacture in continuous production. Through different time periods, the Maison has continued to draw from age-old traditions and craftsmanship to create masterpieces that are relevant not only for today, but also for the future, by imbuing them with innovation and creativity that is relatable to a new and contemporary audience.
In the course of nearly 270 years of watchmaking heritage, Vacheron Constantin has also devoted great importance to arts and culture. Their partnerships, recently with The Louvre and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, have betoken a celebration of beauty driven by the Manufacture’s constant concern for safeguarding and passing on of heritage, as well as a perpetual pursuit for excellence through exploration, innovation and self-renewal. This emphasis on artistic and cultural heritage highlights Vacheron Constantin’s shared commitment with all its partners to transmitting knowledge and preserving the arts.

Crafts on Peel Hong Kong partnership
This year, Vacheron Constantin will partner with Crafts on Peel, Hong Kong, for a year-long project to preserve, perpetuate and innovate local traditional crafts in Hong Kong. Together with Crafts on Peel – a charitable organization whose mission is to revive, reinterpret and perpetuate traditional Hong Kong craftsmanship by promoting collaborations between local craftsmen and contemporary artisans through apprenticeship and exchange of techniques, “Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” will be the first part of the year-long series in fostering a creative dialogue to reimagine our cultural heritage, to highlight the essence of craftsmanship and folk wisdom in the disappearing local crafts, and to inspire local traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans in passing-on and exchanging their know-how with innovative thinking.

“Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions”
On exhibition from March 15 to 18, at Tai Kwun, Hong Kong, “Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” will bring together local creative talents across generations to showcase this cultural mission:

Master Liu Wing Sheung, one of Hong Kong’s last remaining and preeminent casting craftsmen, who has begun passing along his experience and know-how to Fanson Lam, a young sculptor who has created contemporary art by infusing traditional casting techniques into his work, and Angel Hui, a contemporary painter, whose works feature and continues to transcend the traditional Chinese art of embroidery.
The exhibition will explore various themes that look back through our cultural history – from mythology and folklore to present day Hong Kong. Master Liu Wing Sheung and Fanson Lam will both showcase art pieces on their own that highlight the art of casting that depict our traditional ideas of perception, philosophy, karma and culture, as well as pieces that include fantastical imagery.
The art pieces will highlight the seasoned hands of both artisans and their collaborative efforts inspired by ancient Chinese traditions and crafts – from the use and mastery of bronze, to inspiration from age-old tools like mirrors and door knockers, to casting techniques amalgamated with an in-depth knowledge and modern interpretation of our culture to create something new and meaningful for a contemporary audience.
Angel Hui, meanwhile, will showcase a colourful world of nature that has been inspired by Hong Kong’s local cityscape “Goldfish Street” – the goldfish itself, a traditional Chinese symbol of happiness and good fortune. The result brings the exhibition back to modern-day Hong Kong, fusing the artist’s interpretation of social roles of commonly found objects with the ancient Chinese art of embroidery as she applies challenging embroidery techniques on fragile plastic material, creating exquisite, soulful goldfish motifs.

Métiers d’Art Tribute to Explorer Naturalists
In perpetuating their craft as it pertains to art and craftsmanship, Vacheron Constantin itself is writing a new chapter in the Métiers d’Art collection with four Tribute to Explorer Naturalists ten-piece limited editions. An ode to exploration, craftsmanship and technicity, the series focuses on the scientific discoveries of the naturalists who travelled the world’s oceans aboard the English ship Beagle in the early 1830s. The collection brings together the combined talents of the Manufacture’s artisans – engravers, enamellers, guilloché specialists and jewellers – that the Maison cultivates within its Manufacture, alternately mingling their skills to create dials that are like windows opening onto the world.
Vacheron Constantin continues to collaborate with different artistic and cultural partners to preserve and promote arts, and this program aims to preserve fading crafts in Hong Kong and rejuvenate them in a contemporary manner to a new audience; much like how Vacheron Constantin looks to their famous heritage as the world’s oldest Manufacture, to take inspiration from the past, and inject and rejuvenate their creations with innovation for the modern era and the future.

“Time Imprints: Tracing Traditions” Exhibition

Date:  March 15 – 18, 2024

Time:   From 10am to 8pm (March 18 will be closed at 6pm)

Venue: Duplex Studio – Tai Kwun, 10 Hollywood Road,  Central, Hong Kong                   

About Vacheron Constantin
Founded in 1755, Vacheron Constantin is the world’s oldest watch Manufacture in continuous production for nearly 270 years, faithfully perpetuating a proud heritage of watchmaking excellence and stylistic sophistication through generations of master craftsmen.
At the pinnacle of Haute Horlogerie and understated elegance, the Maison creates timepieces with unique technical and aesthetic signatures, and an extremely high level of finishing touches.
Vacheron Constantin brings to life unparalleled heritage and a spirit of innovation through its collections: Patrimony, Traditionnelle, Métiers d’Art, Overseas, Fiftysix, Historiques and Égérie. It also offers its discerning clientele of connoisseurs the rare opportunity to acquire vintage pieces within the Les Collectionneurs assortment, as well as unique and bespoke timepieces by means of its Les Cabinotiers department.

About Crafts on Peel
Crafts on Peel is a charitable organization to revive, reinterpret and perpetuate Hong Kong’s traditional craftsmanship. Incubated in 2017, we started with an aim to support craftsmen and artisans by providing them a platform for their creativity. Acting as a matchmaker, we foster dialogues and collaborations between traditional craftsmen and contemporary artisans domestically and internationally. Through crafts exchange, we create opportunities for skill and knowledge transfer to nurture the younger generation to incorporate traditional craft techniques into innovative contemporary design. 
Ever since our official opening in 2020, Crafts on Peel has launched several local and international exhibitions, organised workshops in collaboration with our artisans, cultivated the Crafts Fellowship Programme and incubated numerous partnerships and collaborations that connect artisans globally. Crafts on Peel hopes to develop these programs to enhance the appreciation of craftsmanship, but also to show how traditional crafts can be juxtaposed with our modern lifestyles in a way that celebrates our cultural heritage.
We believe that the essence of craftsmanship lies in the hands. At the core of the concept of Crafts on Peel is the stories of our craftsmen. Our logo reflects our commitment to preserving our Chinese cultural heritage, which is composed of a pair of “hands” (手) in two Chinese characters – the fundamental tool for a craftsman. The hand character, together with its inverted mirrored image, combined to form the Chinese character “I” (我), which is the idea that each craft originates from the unique experiences of the craftsman. The two hands also symbolize the relationship between the craft master and his apprentice, as the skill is passed on from one generation to the next.