Vacheron Constantin and artist Zaria Forman celebrate the icy Icelandic landscape

American artist and explorer Zaria Forman has partnered with Vacheron Constantin for a new campaign inspired by the beauty of the Icelandic landscape. 

Forman has worked closely with the brand, creating unique artwork Fellsfjara, Iceland no.3, following the campaign shot on location in Iceland. To mark the collaboration, Vacheron Constantin has unveiled a new self-winding Overseas watch clad entirely in pink gold.

‘My aim as an artist is to offer viewers an opportunity to experience isolated places that they might not otherwise have the chance to visit,’ says Forman of her work, which includes time spent as an artist-in-residence on the National Geographic Explorer ship in Antarctica. 

‘I work on a large scale, in order to envelop the viewer, and transport them to that place and time. We take action and make decisions based on our emotions, more than anything else. Art has a special ability to tap into our emotions. I show the beauty of what we stand to lose in my drawings in order to inspire people. When you fall in love with something, you want to protect it.’

The sporty silhouette of the Overseas watch makes it a natural partner for Forman, its tactile form a sensual foil for her work. ‘Time is the key element in both Vacheron Constantin’s work and my own,’ Forman says. ‘The immense time it takes for a glacier to grow, the moment in time that I experience sunlight glistening on the side of an iceberg, the split second I capture it in a photo, the many weeks or months I spend exploring that moment in all its details to complete a drawing, the time it takes for the ice to melt. I want viewers to consider the future by looking through the prism of history that lives inside glacial remains. I want to play a part in helping to preserve beauty, as Vacheron Constantin does with its artisans, their expertise, the heritage and culture of watchmaking. We are both in a process of creation and preservation.’

The new watch champions this heritage in its design, referencing the pink gold popular in the Vacheron Constantin models of the 1910s and 1920s. ‘We wanted to offer a shade that would be different from the classic silver tone that usually goes with this type of pink gold watch fitted with a bracelet in the same metal,’ says Christian Selmoni, director of style and heritage at Vacheron Constantin. ‘And yes, we were inspired by the pink gold combination found in many of the maison's creations since the 1940s.’  

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