Roger’s work inspires art photography project

29th June 2016

As a watchmaker who can be said to sculpt timepieces by hand, Roger has sometimes been referred to as a “mechanical artist” himself but, during 2015/16, his work also inspired a unique collaboration with renowned artist photographer, Andrew Hall, which has resulted in an entirely new vision for our website.

A British born photographer, who has been based in Los Angeles for the last ten years, Andrew Hall has developed a distinctive aesthetic in his work, found in the physics of interacting liquids and the divine geometry of intersecting circles. His work is often exhibited in large installations across the USA and also recently featured on Showtime’s hit series ‘Ray Donovan’.

“The concept of time, and the sheer beauty of circles and natural growth have been key influences in my work, which drew me to the work of renowned British watchmaker Roger Smith” explains Andrew. “It’s no coincidence that clocks and watches are based on circles a simple expression of the infinite repetitive harmony of nature which is present in all life, from atomic structures to stars and galaxies”.

A screening of the Netflix documentary “The Watchmaker’s Apprentice” first drew Andrew to Roger’s work. He says; “I was absolutely fascinated by Roger’s story and have long been influenced by exploring wider notions of light and time.”

Roger continues; “We first began discussions with Andrew on how the project could take shape during the summer of 2015 and it has been wonderful to see the series of images manifest them-selves since then.

“I feel a certain resonance with Andrew’s work because he takes his photography out of the ‘norm’ and to a level where he immerses you in a world of incredible detail. This give the images such vi-brancy and life; the more you look at them, the more they reward you”.

“Several comparisons can be drawn to my work, where every single detail has been agonised over in order to create a watch of many layers. I like to think that you can lose yourself in the depth and detail of the architecture of my watches so that they evoke a feeling way beyond their function as timekeepers.”

Andrew adds; “I think it’s fair to say that balance, precision and rhythm are the guiding principles of both Roger as The Watchmaker, and myself as an artist trying to recreate the patterns inherent in the natural movement of objects and the broader themes of time itself”.

The series of photographs has been curated under the theme “The Universe is a Clock” and will be exhibited publicly during 2016 and 2017 as part of a series of Science-is-GREAT events in partnership with the GREAT campaign, for which Roger is an ambassador. Two of the photographs have already featured at the International Festival of Business in Liverpool attended by Her Majesty the Queen during June 2016.

We hope you enjoy these previews of the images and will be announcing opportunities to view the photographs soon.