Jaeger-LeCoultre commissions digital artist Brendi Wedinger to create a trio of fictional flowers

In the latest edition of its Made of Makers programme, the Swiss watchmaking house Jaeger-LeCoultre highlights the work of Brendi Wedinger, a multidisciplinary artist and designer who specialises in 3D digital art, sculpture and floristry. Based in Los Angeles, her vibrant and imaginative creations blur the line between reality and fantasy, the physical and the digital. 

This unique confluence of mediums made Wedinger an ideal collaborator for Jaeger-LeCoultre, who has sought out like-minded artists, designers and creatives who uphold the same appreciation of exquisite craftsmanship and artistry that it celebrates in horology. Each year, new works are commissioned through the Made of Makers programme to expand the dialogue between watchmaking and art.

In Wedinger’s case, dream-like details and colours converge to explore ideas of biodiversity, sustainability and renewal, which come together in an especially poetic way for Jaeger-LeCoultre. Wedinger has created a trio of unique floral sculptures, each drawn from native species found in Jaeger-LeCoultre’s home in the Vallee de Joux. While discovering the natural wildflowers alongside observing Jaeger LeCoultre’s watchmaking techniques, Wedinger was inspired to construct her own pieces from a variety of components.

‘Aside from the natural beauty of the valley, I felt very inspired by the high-complication watches and the unique details you find in them,’ she says. ‘I wanted the flowers to be complex and one-of-kind, like the watches, with all of the beauty and immense detail that can be found in both.

The resulting trio of floral hybrids that she has created are an homage to the Vallee de Joux’s biodiversity throughout the changing seasons. Officially named in Latin, as per botanical tradition, each fantasy variety has an English name added by Jaeger-LeCoultre, and pays tribute to the house’s iconic Reverso watch’s year of birth. Flos Montis Fluit (Flower of the Mountain Flows), known as the 1931 Golden Poppy, combines aspects of the poppy, alpine  pasque and parnassia, Gemma Vallis (The Jewel of the Vallee), known as the 1931 Golden Orchid, is a fusion of wild narcissus, red hemp nettle and late spider orchid features, while water mint, scabious and fringed pink have been combined to create Rhapsodia Petalorum  Alpinorum (The Rhapsody of Alpine Petals), known as the 1931 Golden Thistle. Each of the flowers has been digitally rendered in precious metals used by Jaeger-LeCoultre to create the hyper-realistic illusion of the shadows and reflections, further amplifying the surreal effect.

‘When people  look more deeply at each work, they will see that every element is recognisable and traceable to a natural flower, but I remixed and layered the details to emphasise their surreal nature,’ explains Wedinger, who sculpts, designs and draws elements by hand  before using computer programmes to complete works.  

The final flourish of the collaboration blurs the distinctions between the digital and physical realms even further. Jaeger-LeCoultre commissioned a French plant breeder to breed an exclusive hybrid based around a flower variety that closely resembles the fictional 1931 Golden Orchid. Named the 1931 White Orchid, it is a natural and physical representation of Wedinger’s art piece. The flowers in both their physical and virtual forms will become part of Jaeger-LeCoultre’s visual identity and can be spotted in-person at the house’s upcoming events.