Hublot Unveils 50 Limited-Edition Timepieces By Artist Soldier

(MENAFN- USA Art News) Swiss luxury watchmaker Hublot has expanded its artist collaboration series, partnering with Nigerian-born, London-based visual artist and designer Soldier, born Leonard Iheagwam. Soldier has created 50 limited-edition timepieces in black ceramic and black-plated titanium, which feature his signature toy sliders and a cross motif. These elements are recurring in Soldier's artwork, which he first exhibited in 2024 with Angelica Mara Jopling of Incubator. The dial of the 42 mm chronograph also incorporates toy soldiers within its design and bezel.

This collaboration represents a project that has been two years in development, with the watches priced starting at £22,900 (approximately $30,303 ). Soldier shared insights into the partnership during a preview at the Hublot store on New Bond Street.

Soldier likened the watch design process to painting, drawing a parallel to Marcel Duchamp's Fountain (1917) as a“ready-made” concept.“A watch is already an object, which has thought behind it, and so the process is quite simple,” said Soldier. He noted that he visited Hublot's Swiss headquarters to observe the watchmaking process, emphasizing that“Art and watches are not mass-produced items, there are actual engineers who work on creating such a piece.” Soldier, who reportedly never wore a watch growing up, now wears a Hublot engraved with the phrase“artist proof.”

The toy soldiers in his artwork and the Hublot collaboration symbolize Soldier's upbringing in Nigeria, while the cross motif is linked to his father, a reverend. He explained,“We didn't really come from a lot of money, and growing up, I used to skateboard wearing camouflage clothing, so I had a lot of run-ins with the police and army because civilians weren't allowed to wear camouflage because of the civil war.” After moving to England in 2019, his current work frequently draws from his adolescence. His solo exhibition at Jopling, titled“When The Saints Go Marching,” featured paintings inspired by war memories, religious iconography, and family portraits. Soldier also revealed plans for a“big” show in 2028, without disclosing the institution's name, calling it“very important” for the Nigerian creative scene, where he believes visual art has not achieved the same prominence as the fashion industry.“I didn't grow up thinking I could be a painter, neither could my parents. I've only been showing work for the past three years,” said Soldier, who counts art world figures such as Charlie Gosling, Lorenzo Amos, and Robert Nava among his friends.

Source: ARTnews

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