Introducing the animation film director Jackie Wang

Jaeger-LeCoultre showcases the latest artistic collaboration under its Made of Makers™ programme at ‘The Dream Shaper’ exhibition in Shanghai. Commissioned from Chinese independent animation director Jackie Wang, the hypnotic artwork ‘Drawn in Time’ pays homage to Jaeger-LeCoultre’s iconic Rendez-Vous collection, embodying feminine elegance and craftsmanship through a mesmerizing choreography of stars and precision mechanics.

PUSHING FURTHER THE BOUNDARIES OF CLASSICAL ARTS

The Made of Makers™ programme draws a parallel between the worlds of horology and art, fostering collaborations with artists, designers, and craftsmen from disciplines outside watchmaking, who share the Maison’s values of creativity, expertise, and precision. The programme challenges the perception of classical arts as static or bound to the past, instead emphasising their continuous reinvention and honouring them as a leading source of creativity today. Just as today’s classics were once seen as radical at their inception, the Made of Makers™ programme explores how traditional forms and techniques can be reinvented through new materials and media, offering a fresh perspective on the dialogue between past and present. Like the watchmakers of La Grande Maison, these artists respect tradition as a foundation for creativity, while pushing boundaries and exploring new horizons, highlighting how both watchmaking and classical art express human creativity, reflect the culture of an era and trigger emotions.

To date, the Made of Makers™ community has embraced the worlds of contemporary visual art, gastronomy, music and perfumery – with artists including Zimoun (Switzerland), Michael Murphy (USA), Guillaume Marmin (France), lettering artist Alex Trochut (Spain/USA), pastry chef Nina Métayer (France), mixologist Matthias Giroud (France), digital media artist Yiyun Kang (Korea), musician TØKIO M¥ERS (UK), multi-media artist Brendi Wedinger (USA), Chef Himanshu Saini (India), street light-painter Roy Wang (China), perfumer Nicolas Bonneville (France), designer Khalid Shafar (UAE) and chef-chocolatier Mathieu Davoine (France/Switzerland). This new collaboration with animation film director Jackie Wang (China) adds the art of animated artwork to the Made of Makers™ portfolio.

THE ANIMATION FILM DIRECTOR

Jaeger-LeCoultre invites guests to embark on a mesmerizing visual odyssey through its collaboration with The Animation Film Director Jackie Wang. A graduate of both the Central Academy of Fine Arts and London’s Royal College of Art, Beijing-based Jackie Wang masterfully blends traditional hand-drawn techniques with contemporary storytelling. Drawing from her unique East-meets-West perspective and distinctly feminine sensibility, she captures ephemeral emotions through fluid brushstrokes and ethereal palettes. Her work sits at the intersection of reality and fantasy, creating narratives that combine visual impact with emotional depth.

For Jackie Wang, animation is more than a medium: it is a language that transcends borders, blurring the lines between memory and imagination. “Animation allows me to explore the unseen, the subtle, and the transformative,” she says. “When Jaeger-LeCoultre invited me to revisit the origins of motion pictures, I saw an opportunity to breathe new life into the ‘phenakistiscope’, the very spark that ignited cinema.“

Encapsulating Jackie Wang’s signature style, the artwork that she has created exclusively for La Grande Maison reinvents the classic of the 7^th art by pushing the limits of kinetic art.

‘DRAWN IN TIME’

With ‘Drawn in Time’, Jackie Wang reimagines the earliest spark of cinema: the ‘phenakistiscope’, through the lens of contemporary animation and poetic symbolism. Inspired by the circular illusion that gave birth to motion pictures, she creates a hypnotic choreography of hand-drawn forms, brought to life only through movement. Birds in flight, moons, suns and blooming flowers orbit in a celestial dance: timeless symbols of freedom, renewal, and brilliance. Her animation is not only visual. It is tactile. Crafted with textures that echo watchmaking, from mother-of-pearl reflections to guilloché-inspired patterns, the piece bridges ancestral craftsmanship and digital imagination. More than a tribute to origins, ‘Drawn in Time’ is a meditation on time itself: how art moves, how emotion circulates, and how beauty emerges in motion.

Jackie Wang’s artwork comprises five intricately designed ‘phenakistiscope’ discs, each telling a distinct and artistic story of feminine strength and evolution.

THE ENCOUNTER: A peony transforms into a bird in flight, symbolizing a woman’s liberation and rebirth. Set against a starry sky with shooting stars and moon phases, it reflects the endless possibilities of unexpected moments.

THE HAND OF CREATION: Meteors burst from a woman’s palm, embodying the heritage of craftsmanship passed through generations. The design echoes Jaeger-LeCoultre’s guilloché patterns, celebrating precision and artistry.

HARMONY OF ORDER: Gears and constellations intertwine, representing the harmony between rationality and creativity. A woman’s voice, visualised through a trumpet, sings of confidence and grace.

TIMELESS SHELL: A mother-of-pearl dial, unique as every woman’s journey, captures the delicate yet resilient nature of femininity.

ETERNAL BLOOM: A golden peony blossoms endlessly, embodying everlasting vitality while honouring the Rendez-Vous collection.

Each disc rotates at 0.75 revolutions per second to create an illusion of movement. The installation alternates between static and dynamic states, inviting viewers to witness the metamorphosis of time and form. ‘Drawn in Time’ is an invitation to witness the alchemy of tradition and innovation, engaging with both centuries-old craftsmanship and contemporary animation.

“Jackie Wang’s talent, expertise and her poetic perspective add an exciting new dimension to our Made of Makers™ programme,” says Jérôme Lambert, Chief Executive Officer of Jaeger-LeCoultre. “Her works reveal masterful delicacy, creating perfect harmony with the feminine strength embodied in our Rendez-Vous collection. At Jaeger-LeCoultre, we strongly believe in the convergence of craftsmanship across many disciplines, and working with an artist like Jackie Wang allows us to explore uncharted territories where the worlds of kinetic art and watchmaking intersect.”