New Bubble: The Art of the Wrist
Aiiroh offers a humorous, upbeat reading of contemporary references. Corum and French artists team up to create colorful, alternative Bubble
With a diameter of 47mm, the Bubble X Aiiroh is an inspiration for bold thinking and comes in a wealth of colours. Its dial is attributed to “Street Rose,” a 2020 piece in which French artist Aiiroh, who rose to fame as a graffiti artist, uses strips torn from street posters and newspaper headlines to create Collage in the form of rose petals covered with black stylized openwork roses.
Reference Art History…
While the Bubble X Aiiroh is a very modern piece, the origins of watchmaking and collage both go back hundreds of years. Popularized in the 1920s by Dada artists, especially Kurt Schwitters, collages have been used in religious artworks in the 14th and 15th centuries, often inlaid with precious stones and gold. Gold-plated rich icons are a good example.
Now that the icon has changed, the art is no longer tied to religious imagery. Aiiroh’s colourful pieces reference the “iconic” logos of brands like Louis Vuitton and Chanel, and are meant to play with ingrained references of his generation.
…and the history of watchmaking
When the Corum Bubble launched in 2000, it brought a breath of fresh air to a brand headed by the visionary Severin Wunderman at the time, already known for its creativity in watchmaking. The Bubble’s curves and impressively domed sapphire crystal are a little crazy, inspired by the iconic design of the Rolex Deep Sea Special, whose transparent dome protects the dial from the extreme pressure of underwater.
The Bubble quickly became one of fake Corum‘s best-selling models. Originally presented as a 44mm diameter, it was later expanded to 47mm and 52mm sizes. Such a large dial space is ideal for variations and techniques, while the domed sapphire crystal acts like a magnifying glass, magnifying and distorting the extraordinary dial. Due to its experimental and overtly illegal nature, Bubble is an ideal platform to collaborate with contemporary artists, including Canadian Elisabetta Fantone and now Aiiroh.
Art and more art!
The decorating technique of the Bubble dial is similar to that used by Aiiroh for the “Street Rose”. A collage of rose petals comes to life in shades of turquoise, orange, lavender, purple, blue, red, yellow and green against a stark black background. Then place the black aluminum cutout for the stylized rose on top. Aiiroh even made a special display box for this Bubble with a spray-painted design.
Two other artists and members of the same collective as Aiiroh also contributed to Corum Bubble X Aiiroh. They are Japanese modernist artist Sen Baume and French visual artist Soyz Bank. The three worked together to create a sculptural mural. Drawing on Corum’s Certificate of Authenticity and the brand’s key logo, the original design was originally a two-dimensional painting, then folded and cast in resin. Comparable to Corum Bubble’s performance! buying replica watches