In 2017, La Prairie marks the 30th anniversary of its iconic Skin Caviar. To celebrate the occasion, La Prairie collaborates with a select group of contemporary artists to interpret La Prairie’s Approach to the Art of Caviar and produce a scientific and artistic creation:
LIVING CELLS by PAUL COUDAMY
LACQUERED STEEL, MAGNETS
Inspired by the Weaire-Phelan structure, a mathematical formula of a complex three-dimensional form representing foam bubbles of equal size, Living Cells plays with the concept of volume. Composed of lustrous black magnetised marbles – reminiscent of caviar – which colonise the steel structure in clusters, the installation’s form is in constant flux. The magnetic tension between the marbles themselves and between the marbles and the structure generates an organic and ever-changing distribution. The small spheres spread like a living entity over a static skeleton, constantly shifting – producing new, unique forms each time the installation is assembled. The construction of Living Cells began with modelling each “bubble” and its spatial assembly. Each form is then cut in steel using lasers and digital folding that follow a numbered pattern system. Each piece is then welded by hand to build the structure. Living Cells is a masterful interpretation that uses volume to express La Prairie’s latest breakthrough innovation, Skin Caviar Absolute Filler.
SOLID FREQUENCIES by PAUL COUDAMY
GLASS, ELECTRONIC ..., AUDIO SYSTEM, METAL, RESIN
Taking its cue from Kundt’s Tube, a device used to display sound waves in an air-filled, transparent tube, the piece evokes the mysterious beauty and power of unseen forces.
The massive black, telluric form is pierced by a glass tube filled with small marbles, inspired by the beads of La Prairie’s original Skin Caviar. When the piece is touched, the vibrations cause the marbles to move, generating three-dimensional shapes that flow back and forth through the tube, following the hand’s movement and spilling over each over like a mass of caviar beads.
The visitor becomes the activator of a fascinating work in which science and art become one — in which a physical phenomenon becomes an artistic expression.
About the artist: Paul Coudamy is head of a trans-disciplinary, uncompromising studio focused on architectural creations. The quest for beauty is the source of the studio’s creative aesthetic, which aims to surpass perceived limits and build poetic objects and spaces. Coudamy Architectures meticulously manages its projects from idea to realisation, creating the form and the fabrication process in the studio workshop with the latest digital technologies, including an industrial robotic arm.
MOVING PIXEL by BONJOUR INTERACTIVE LAB
DIGITAL INTERACTIVE EXPERIENCE
A digital work that questions our relationship with our own body, the installation relies on the movement of micro-particles in an artificial universe to question the reinterpretation of our own bodies matter in a virtual environment.
Generative design allows for the creation of virtual environments and the simulation of the organic behaviours of the elements, such as wind and water, to closely recreate environments. Combined with the Microsoft Kinect to capture movements and silhouettes, the installation recreates a universe in which humans interact in real-time with virtual elements.
As the golden particles come into contact with the user, they form a silhouette frozen in time and space for a brief moment, resisting the immutable effect of time and gravity, reinterpreting the phenomenal lifting effect of La Prairie’s Skin Caviar Liquid Lift.
About the artist: Bonjour Interactive Lab is a creative studio specialised in projects at the intersection of artistic installation, technological innovation, and interactivity. The team focuses most of its efforts on generative design (both graphic and sound), human/machine interaction and tangible media, which lead Bonjour to create cross-domain experiences.
PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION by CINQ FRUITS
PRODUCTION OF ABSTRACT PHOTOS DEPICTING THE TEXTURE OF SKIN CAVIAR AND THE BRAND UNIVERSE OF LA PRAIRIE (ART AND SCIENCE, BLUE, STEEL, GOLD ...)
This photographic exhibition celebrated La Prairie’s eternal quest for indulgence and timeless beauty. In its quest to create the most indulgent skincare, 30 years ago La Prairie unveiled to the world caviar’s unique power to nourish and rejuvenate the skin.
Going beyond what was previously thought possible, the Skin Caviar collection offers a new dimension of sensorial indulgence paired with exceptional lifting and firming. From textures to packaging, La Prairie products are crafted as objects of design. In each element of the products, the artistic dimension guides the creation. The iconic cobalt blue packaging takes inspiration from the sculpture and architecture so prevalent in the 1980’s. The formula composed of precious and innovative ingredients also reflects the brand’s constant artistic quest. In store, the custom-crafted high-touch service reveals La Prairie’s immersive experience for the senses.
About cinq fruits: A studio dedicated to art direction, photography and design based in Paris. Founded in 2009 by Mathieu Missiaen and Julien Morin, Cinq Fruits was later joined by three art directors, Stéphane Perrier, Tiffany Chen and Ronan Brun. Fundamentally multidisciplinary and research-driven, Cinq Fruits evolves in a variety of domains, from visual art to fashion.
UNTITLED by TREMENSS
LASER, VIDEO-PROJECTION, SPATIALISED SOUND
Engineering: ExperiensS
In a pitch-black room, an intense laser cuts through the space from corner to corner. The beam impacts a massive vertical monolith, where four powerful video-projectors collaborate to cast abstract and organically evolving visuals. Like the macroscopic cannon of a complex scientific operation, the laser cuts volumetric shapes through the air before hitting the monolith, laser and video interact in real-time, in almost chemical reactions or digital dark holes.
Spatialised sound textures add to the immersion, enhancing the light/video choreographic interference with dramatic and tangible power. This installation, at once ethereal and technological, echoes La Prairie's advanced process of steam distillation to capture Caviar Water, used for the first time in La Prairie’s Skin Caviar Essence-in-Lotion.
About the artist: Artist and engineer, TremensS produces dark and immersive experiences at the intersection of art, innovation, and cognitive science. TremensS explores human/machine interaction through technological installations mixing light, sound, image and sculpture, with a dark and almost sacred aura.
