LÉGÈRTÉ

in collaboration with Mathieu Rivier and Pauline Saglio

How can we talk about lightness without instinctively turning our gaze to the sky,

which by nature is suspended above our heads? The elements that make up the sky and the imperceptible forces that make it evolve have always stimulated the imagination. Changes of colors, alternation of day and night, suspension of clouds and stars, graceful movements of beings that inhabit it ... A set of natural phenomena that mythologies, traditions and beliefs have sought to explain by the imagination. Why is the sky blue? Where do the clouds go? In the world of childhood, the sky is also an inexhaustible source of stimulus for the imagination, it becomes a strong vector of creation, where everything becomes possible. Defying gravity turns into a playful laboratory: soap bubbles, planes, balloons, kites... so many artifacts that feed the celestial landscape with new subjects, always in motion and defying gravity.

Based on the narrative of the genesis of the sky and the subjects that compose it the concept develops through three key words: Movement, Illusion, Imagination. The windows take the form of dreamlike machines perched in the clouds, linked by their inertia. Their function is to set in motion the elements that make up the sky. Hermès products become the main actors of these automatons, becoming in turn: stars, clouds, or mechanical links essential to the proper functioning of the machine. 

The windows illustrate different suspended paintings, from the sunrise to the cycle of the moon, passing by the creation of clouds, the propagation of the wind, and making the passers-by navigate at several levels of altitude. In a nod to the famous Goldberg machines, these compositions allow an arrangement of flexible products, while diverting them from their primary function and bringing a touch of humor. Screens, integrated in these machines, allow to link the materiality of a product to the immateriality of an image, creating thus windows of playful illusions, movements between virtual and real, and stimulating the imagination of this impossible world, with collages of various products which take the form of flying machines. These screens also make it possible to guide the spectators and make them travel between heaven and earth throughout the windows.

Dimitri Bähler: Concept & Art Direction, Set Design 
Mathieu Rivier: Concept & Art Direction, Mechanic & Software
Pauline Saglio: Concept & Art Direction, Motion Video Design 

Sébastien Matos: Motion Video Design, Software Support
Noémie Soriano: Set production
Sebastian Rüdisüli: Set production
Emile Donzel: Mechanic
Nathalie Rivier: Set production
Anna Vinciguerra: Set production
Raphaël Flipo: Set production
Standconcept: Cutting technical support 

Photos Zürich: Dimitri Bähler

Photo Genève: Alicia Dubuis

Film

Gianni Camporota: Image and film direction 
Pauline Saglio: Video editing
Podington Bear: Soundtrack
Standconcept: Cutting Technical Support

Hermès / 22