Seeing the world from a different perspective is refreshing and at times, highlights things that we may have missed at first glance. In the case of the exhibition “A Journey Into Grey”, this perspective is highlighted by artist Sebastian Kite with the help of A. Lange & Söhne. The collaboration shows visitors just how the play of grey tones while seemingly mundane, can actually represent diversity for others.

A combination of black and white, the colour is said to “represent the multiple facets of our life and inspires us to keep exploring new perspectives”. The British artist uses the Lange 31, a limited-edition timepiece as his inspiration to showcase how nothing in life is ever truly black or white but is instead a mesmerising shade of grey. Using a camera from the 1940s as his tool — a spring-wound Bolox camera to be exact —, Kite chose a 16mm cinematic format as his medium to explore the various shades of grey. His journey to find out the various facets of the hue, saw him travel to Cornwall. “In nature, the variations of grey are boundless. I wanted to try and capture at least some of them” said the artist. The impressions captured outdoors, are reflected within the installation and highlight the timeless aesthetics of black and white.

With only 100 pieces produced, the Lange 31 that serves as the star of the installation is made up of complicated 406-part movement and is the first mechanical wristwatch with a power reserve of 31 days. Thanks to the patented constant-force escapement, the timepiece ensures that a uniform amount of energy is delivered to the oscillator every 10 seconds. This helps provide the Lange 31 with excellent chronometry, that is to say – run accurately for the entire month. “Nothing beats the accuracy of this watch. Therefore, I looked for another approach to interpret it” explained Kite.