AIR Gama Aviation May'15

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THE CHANEL MOMENT

www.chanel.com

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CONTENTS / FEATURES

Managing Director Victoria Thatcher Editorial Director John Thatcher Group Commercial Director David Wade david@hotmediapublishing.com Commercial Director Rawan Chehab rawan@hotmediapublishing.com Business Development Manager Rabih El Turk rabih@hotmediapublishing.com Deputy Editor Richard Jenkins richard@hotmediapublishing.com

Forty Six

Fifty Eight

Too cool

Brit classic

AIR looks at how indie actress ChloĂŤ Sevigny became an unconventional style icon.

Following a six-month renovation, we take a look inside venerable London restaurant, The Ivy.

Fifty Two

Sixty Two

Rock ‘n’ roll star

Caine and able

Former Rolling Stone photographer Baron Wolman talks us through his most memorable shots.

After 50 years and over ¿OPV DFWRU 0LFKDHO Caine tells us why he’s more in demand than ever.

Features Editor Lara Brunt lara@hotmediapublishing.com Senior Designer Andy Knappett Designer Emi Dixon Illustrator Andrew Thorpe Production Manager Chalitha Fernando -8-

A LEVEL ABOVE

BREATHTAKING

Soaring high at 555 meters, At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY is fittingly Dubai’s most iconic destination. You can now enjoy exclusive access to the redefined, highest outdoor observatory in the world, spread across levels 125 and 148 of the Burj Khalifa. With dedicated lounges, elevator access and complimentary refreshments, you will be personally escorted through stunning views and never seen before interactive experiences.

#TouchtheSKY www.atthetop.ae

CONTENTS / FEATURES Eighteen

Radar As the Cannes Film Festival kicks off, a new photography exhibition UHYHDOV ¿OP LFRQV RQ VHW

Twenty Six

Art & Design Nástio Mosquito gets set to stun Venice; in Dubai, Peter Sanders unveils his LPDJHV RI ,VODP

Thirty Eight

Jewellery 9KHUQLHU¶V QHZ ¿QH jewellery collection mixes bold Italian style and (DVWHUQ LQÀXHQFHV

Forty Two

Timepieces AIR looks at why the old masters of watchmaking are increasingly focusing WKHLU JD]H RQ DUW Visit to a Prophet. © Peter Sanders 1998

Sixty Eight

Motoring Sotheby’s vintage car sale, SOXV ZK\ WKH 0HUFHGHV AMG GT S is gunning for WKH ¶V FURZQ

Seventy Four

Gastronomy AIR sits down with the Beckham’s former chef, Chris Irving, at his new 6\GQH\ UHVWDXUDQW

Seventy Eight

Travel After extensive renovations, Ashford Castle in Ireland is DYDLODEOH IRU H[FOXVLYH KLUH

Tel: 00971 4 364 2876 Fax: 00971 4 369 7494 Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission from HOT Media 3XEOLVKLQJ LV VWULFWO\ SURKLELWHG $OO SULFHV mentioned are correct at time of press EXW PD\ FKDQJH +27 0HGLD 3XEOLVKLQJ does not accept liability for omissions or HUURUV LQ $,5

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GAMA AVIATION

May 2015

WELCOME ONBOARD

I’m delighted to welcome you to the May HGLWLRQ RI $,5 *DPDœV LQ ÀLJKW PDJD]LQH I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about our global business aviation group and the services we provide as you browse through the pages. Gama is one of the world’s largest business jet operators – we have nearly 80 business jets operating all around the globe. Established in the United Kingdom in 1983, we’ve grown to have bases throughout the Middle East, Europe and North and South America, as well as operating licences issued by the UAE, UK, US and Bermudan Authorities. In addition to providing aircraft management and charter services, the group also provides aircraft maintenance, avionics design and installation, aviation software, aircraft cleaning, and leasing services to a wide range of clients. Gama’s expansion in the Middle East continues to progress well; our regional ÀHHW KDV JURZQ VLJQL¿FDQWO\ RYHU WKH SDVW 12 months with the arrival of a number of aircraft, along with the continued development of our regional footprint and services. This LQFOXGHV WKH RSHQLQJ RI RXU -HGGDK RI¿FH DQG Abu Dhabi base. Also, Gama is now operating the only business aviation FBO at Sharjah International Airport, which is proving to be a very popular facility for Sharjah and the Northern Emirates, as well as a practical alternative to Dubai International Airport. Business aviation remains one of the best tools available to corporations and individuals who want to make time for themselves and it’s been pleasing to see a continued resurgence LQ FKDUWHU ÀLJKWV ¹ WKH ZRUOG LV WUDYHOOLQJ IRU business again and developing much needed revenue for the global economy. Thank you for choosing Gama – welcome onboard. Richard Lineveldt General Manager Gama Aviation

Contact details: charter.mena@gamaaviation.com gamaaviation.com - 13 -

GAMA AVIATION NEWS

CHINA EXPANSION Gama Aviation establishes aviation Joint Venture with Hutchison Whampoa

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ama Aviation is proud to announce that it has established a business aviation joint venture with Hutchison Whampoa (China) Limited (“HWCL”). Initial operations are expected to begin in Q2 2015 with two additional aircraft based in Hong Kong, increasing the Gama Aviation PDQDJHG ÀHHW WR DLUFUDIW Leveraging off Gama Aviation’s existing infrastructure in the region, the joint venture is focused on providing management, charter, PDLQWHQDQFH DQG UHSDLU DQG ¿[HG base operations in the PRC, Hong Kong and the wider Asia region. The joint venture provides a strong platform for growth in a fast expanding market. China is predicted to be the third largest business jet market by 2022. China is widely regarded as one

of the fastest growing markets for business jet services, yet today WKHUH DUH RQO\ IRUW\ ¿YH RSHUDWRUV operating within Greater China. The new company, Gama Aviation Hutchison Holdings Limited (“Gama Hutchison”), which is incorporated in Hong Kong, will be indirectly owned as to 50% by each of Gama Aviation and HWCL. Regional subsidiaries will be established under the management of Gama Hutchison to operate the full range of business aviation and ground services. The joint venture will initially offer aircraft contract management and charter services from Q2 2015 in the PRC, Hong Kong and the wider Asia region. The full service RIIHULQJ WR LQFOXGH ¿[HG EDVH operations, maintenance and repair will be scaled up over time. On commencing operations, the new trading subsidiary, Gama Aviation Hutchison (Hong Kong) Limited, - 14 -

will manage two aircraft in Hong Kong. Marwan Khalek CEO of Gama Aviation Plc commented: “This YHQWXUH DOORZV XV WR VLJQL¿FDQWO\ build on our existing investment and infrastructure in the region and provides us with an excellent platform for revenue growth. “We see Asia as a large business aviation market and one with huge potential for us. We now have the opportunity to not only serve the PRC, Hong Kong and the wider Asian market, but also link up to our strong regional businesses in Africa, the Middle East and Europe, all of which are major asset destinations for Chinese businesses and individuals. This joint venture evidences not only our commitment to the Asian market, but also our appeal to likeminded multinational conglomerates seeking to enter the private aviation services sector with scale operators.”

WITH US TIME IS ON YOUR SIDE From the moment you touch down at Gama’s Sharjah FBO you’ll know that time is working for you. On average, six minutes after you land you’ll be in your car and on your way. Only 10 minutes from Sharjah itself and a mere 20 minutes (or less*) from Dubai means you’ll be productive before others will have even picked up their bags. Gama Aviation is the exclusive FBO provider at Sharjah, call us for all passenger services and aircraft handling on +971 6557 0177, email fbo.shj@gamaaviation.com or visit www.gamaaviation.com for more information *Helicopter transfers

available

• Aircraft & passenger arrival and departure services • Customs & Immigration preclearance services • Private Majlis and First Class lounges • Chauffeur and crew transport options available • Flight Planning Services • Hangar, Fuelling, Aircraft Parking & Maintenance services • Hotels at preferential rates • Car ramp access

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GAMA AVIATION NEWS

AIM Listed Hangar 8 Plc and Gama Aviation merge

Hangar 8 Plc have announced to the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market the merger of Hangar 8 Plc and Gama Aviation. The new business, Gama Aviation Plc (AIM:GMAA), is listed with a market capitalisation of c. £130M/$200M. Bringing together two businesses that supplement each other on almost every level was a smart and strategic decision in the future of business aviation. The companies have combined to:

‡ Create a global leader in a large DQG JURZLQJ PDUNHW 2QH RI WKH ¿YH largest business aircraft operators globally. ‡ +DYH DLUFUDIW XQGHU PDQDJHPHQW RSHUDWLQJ IURP different locations in 15 countries across 5 continents with a strong presence in North America, the UK, Continental Europe, Africa, Middle East, Asia and South America.

‡ Leverage economies of scale through: a greater number of managed aircraft, across a greater number of geographic locations, providing customers with more choice and convenience, improved logistics and operational cost HIÂżFLHQFLHV ‡ Have a highly experienced board with some 225 years’ of industry experience. As mentioned by Gama Aviation’s CEO, Marwan Khalek: “I am very excited by this merger and the platform that it creates on which we will continue to grow our business aggressively, both organically and through acquisition. A platform that will allow us to continue to offer excellent service to our customers, great opportunity to our people and good returns to our shareholders.â€? In brief, it is as Hangar 8’s CEO, Dustin Dryden said: “We believe Gama Aviation Plc provides a world class offeringâ€?

‡ Offer a comprehensive service, operating and supporting aircraft from all major manufacturers and all classes of private jet aircraft. - 16 -

Upgrade to Glasgow Lounge now Complete Our recent lounge update to our new FBO facilities in Glasgow has been completed and is now RSHUDWLRQDO RQ D + EDVLV :LWK extremely competitive, price matched fuel and handling rates, we provide a high quality option to access Scotland and an ideal fuel stop location for transatlantic crossings.

CABIN ALTITUDE: 1,524 M* PASSENGERS: UP TO 16 SIGNATURE OVAL WINDOWS: 12

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ABIN BLISS

Anyone can travel, but few will travel in the unsurpassed comfort and style of the Gulfstream G450™. From 100 percent fresh-air circulation and low cabin sound levels, to a comprehensively equipped galley and intuitive touch-control entertainment system, the G450 has cabin amenities to help you cross continents and arrive refreshed and relaxed wherever your destination.

ALLAN STANTON | +971 50 653 5258 | allan.stanton@gulfstream.com | GULFSTREAMG450.COM *At the typical initial cruise altitude of 12,497 m

RADAR

> As the stars descend on the French Riviera for the 68th Cannes Film Festival, the Hôtel du Cap hosts a new exhibition showcasing the work of some of the world’s most accomplished on-set photographers. The Art of Behind The Scenes offers a glimpse of screen legends such as Anne Bancroft, Dustin Hoffman, Clint Eastwood and Audrey Hepburn. The Art of Behind The Scenes runs until May 15 at the Hôtel du Cap

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Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman on The Graduate Š Bob Willoughby. Image courtesy of Jaeger-LeCoultre and Finch & Partners.

Film Far from the Madding Crowd

The Water Diviner

Dir: Thomas Vinterberg 6HW LQ 9LFWRULDQ (QJODQG D KHDGVWURQJ ZRPDQ DWWUDFWV WKUHH YHU\ GLIIHUHQW VXLWRUV AT BEST: “1LFHO\ VHUYHG RQ ERWK VLGHV RI WKH FDPHUD WKLV LV D FRQFLVH DQG LQYROYLQJ UHQGLWLRQ´ Hollywood Reporter AT WORST: “%RDVWV ÂżQH SHUIRUPDQFHV DQG SULVWLQH WHFKQLFDO FUHGLWV EXW IDLOV WR PDNH D GHHS FRQQHFWLRQ DV LW MROWV DZNZDUGO\ WRZDUGV D VZHHW ÂżQDOH ´ Screen International

Dir: Russell Crowe An Australian man travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try DQG ÂżQG KLV WKUHH PLVVLQJ VRQV AT BEST: “0DNLQJ KLV GLUHFWRULDO debut‌ Russell Crowe taps a deep ZHOO RI V\PEROLVP FXOWXUDO HPSDWK\ DQG JRRG ROG IDVKLRQHG VWRU\WHOOLQJ ´ Hollywood Reporter AT WORST: Âł&URZHÂśV GLUHFWRULDO GHEXW SURYHV DQ RGG PL[ RI ZDU LV KHOO UHDOLVP DQG VOXVK\ URPDQFH ,W doesn’t always work but is at least KDQGOHG ZLWK VLQFHULW\ ´ Scotsman

Good Kill

Sunshine Superman

Dir: Andrew Niccol (WKDQ +DZNH SOD\V D IDPLO\ PDQ ZKR EHJLQV WR TXHVWLRQ WKH HWKLFV RI KLV MRE DV D GURQH SLORW AT BEST: Âł$QGUHZ 1LFFRO WDNHV RQ WKH WRSLFDO LVVXH RI GURQH VWULNHV LQ D WHQVH ZDU GUDPD QRWDEOH IRU LWV WDFW DQG LQWHOOLJHQFH ´ Variety AT WORST: “Plays like a series of GLGDWLF IRRWQRWHV IRU D PXFK PRUH LQWHUHVWLQJ ÂżOP ´ Irish Times

Dir: Marah Strauch $ KHDUW UDFLQJ GRFXPHQWDU\ SRUWUDLW of Carl Boenish, the father of the %$6( MXPSLQJ PRYHPHQW AT BEST: “Captures both the awe and terror of the sport [Boenish] loved XQWLO WKH GD\ LW EURXJKW DERXW KLV GHDWK ´ Screen International AT WORST: Âł$ SDVVDEOH \HW HUUDWLF peek into the life of a remarkable LQGLYLGXDO ´ Reel Film

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Photo by Marc Brenner

CRITIQUE

Theatre ,I \RX¶UH YLVLWLQJ /RQGRQ WKLV VXPPHU VHFXULQJ WLFNHWV to Gypsy at the Savoy Theatre should be your top SULRULW\ DFFRUGLQJ WR PDQ\ RI WKH FLW\¶V WRS WKHDWUH FULWLFV $FWUHVV ,PHOGD 6WDXQWRQ LV JDUQHULQJ DOPRVW XQDQLPRXV ¿YH VWDU UHYLHZV IRU KHU SHUIRUPDQFH DV WKH PDQLFDOO\ GULYHQ 5RVH LQ -RQDWKDQ .HQW¶V UHYLYDO RI WKH 6RQGKHLP 6W\QH %URDGZD\ PXVLFDO 6HW LQ $PHULFD GXULQJ WKH 'HSUHVVLRQ 5RVH LV D VKRZEL] ¿[DWHG ³PRPPD´ ZKR GHSULYHV KHU WZR GDXJKWHUV RI DQ RUGLQDU\ \RXWK LQ KHU TXHVW IRU WKHP WR UHDFK WKH ELJ WLPH ³7KH SKUDVH RQFH LQ D OLIHWLPH RSSRUWXQLW\ LVQ¶W K\SHUEROH ZKHQ LW FRPHV WR -RQDWKDQ .HQW¶V WKULOOLQJ DFFRXQW RI WKLV %URDGZD\ FODVVLF ´ VD\V WKH 7HOHJUDSK¶V 'RPLQLF &DYHQGLVK ,W RIIHUV WKH ³XQUHSHDWDEOH FKDQFH WR ZLWQHVV ,PHOGD 6WDXQWRQ JLYH RQH RI WKH SHUIRUPDQFHV RI KHU FDUHHU ´ KH DGGV EHIRUH LPSORULQJ WKHDWUH ORYHUV WR VLPSO\ ³*R ´ 7KH )7¶V 6DUDK +HPPLQJ LV HTXDOO\ PHVPHULVHG E\ 6WDXQWRQ¶V ³EOLVWHULQJ \HW EHDXWLIXOO\ GHWDLOHG SHUIRUPDQFH´ EXW DGGV WKDW WKLV LV ³IDU IURP D RQH ZRPDQ VKRZ ´ 6KH ZULWHV ³7KHUH LV VLPLODU DWWHQWLRQ WR GHWDLO LQ 3HWHU 'DYLVRQ¶V SHUIRUPDQFH DV WKH ORQJ VXIIHULQJ +HUELH DQG LQ /DUD 3XOYHU¶V WRXFKLQJ GHOLFDWHO\ REVHUYHG /RXLVH´ ZKLOH /RXLVH *ROG -XOLH /HJUDQG DQG $QLWD /RXLVH &RPEH DUH ³D FRPLF WUHDW DV WKH KDUG ELWWHQ VWULSSHUV VKRZFDVLQJ WKHLU JLPPLFNV ´ $FFRUGLQJ WR WKH *XDUGLDQ¶V 0LFKDHO %LOOLQJWRQ 6WDXQWRQ JLYHV ³WKH JUHDWHVW SHUIRUPDQFHV ,¶YH HYHU VHHQ LQ PXVLFDO WKHDWUH´ ZKLOH $QWKRQ\ :DUG¶V GHVLJQV DQG 6WHSKHQ 0HDU¶V FKRUHRJUDSK\ ³DGG WR WKH JRUJHRXV SOHDVXUH RI DQ HYHQLQJ WKDW ERWK FHOHEUDWHV VKRZEL] DQG DW WKH VDPH WLPH H[SRVHV WKH SV\FKRWLF QDWXUH RI DGGLFWLRQ WR VWDUGRP ´ Until November 28.

7KH QHZ RIIHULQJ IURP 6LPRQ 6WHSKHQV GHVFULEHG as “RQH RI WKH PRVW LPSRUWDQW DQG H[FLWLQJ %ULWLVK SOD\ZULJKWV ZRUNLQJ WRGD\´ E\ 9DULHW\ is also DWWUDFWLQJ DWWHQWLRQ )LUVW VHHQ LQ +DPEXUJ DQG QRZ SOD\LQJ DW WKH $OPHLGD 7KHDWUH LQ 1RUWK /RQGRQ &DUPHQ 'LVUXSWLRQ SLFWXUHG LV D UDGLFDO UHZRUNLQJ RI %L]HW¶V IDPRXV RSHUD ZKLFK IROORZV D VROGLHU ZKR IDOOV LQ ORYH ZLWK D J\SV\ ZRPDQ RQO\ WR EH EHWUD\HG E\ KHU Stephens’ version sees the murderous tale of love and MHDORXV\ WUDQVSRVHG WR XUEDQ FLW\VFDSHV DV D VLQJHU DEDQGRQV WKH RSHUD KRXVH IRU WKH VWUHHWV 7KH *XDUGLDQ¶V 0LFKDHO %LOOLQJWRQ EHOLHYHV LW LV ³D FURZGHG ZRUN EXW D WRWDOO\ FRPSHOOLQJ RQH ´ 6WHSKHQV¶ ³H[WUDRUGLQDU\´ QHZ SOD\ LV ³OHVV D UH FUHDWLRQ RI WKH RSHUD WKDQ D GHFRQVWUXFWLRQ RI LW UHÀHFWLQJ RQ WKH VWUDQJHQHVV RI D VLQJHU¶V YDJDERQG OLIH RXU IUDQWLF GHSHQGHQFH RQ VRFLDO PHGLD DQG WKH LQFUHDVLQJ KRPRJHQHLW\ RI PRGHUQ (XURSHDQ FLWLHV ´ 7KH SOD\¶V YLVLRQ RI XUEDQ VROLWXGH LV ³EHDXWLIXOO\ UHDOLVHG´ WKURXJK WKH ÀXLGLW\ RI GLUHFWRU 0LFKDHO /RQJKXUVW¶V SURGXFWLRQ /L]]LH &ODFKDQ¶V GHVLJQ DQG ,PRJHQ .QLJKW¶V PRYHPHQW GLUHFWLRQ 7KH 7HOHJUDSK¶V 'RPLQLF &DYHQGLVK IHHOV ³WKH DFWLQJ LV FRPPHQGDEO\ GHWDLOHG DQG FRPPLWWHG WKH VLQJLQJ IURP RSHUD VWDU 9LNWRULD 9L]LQ LQ WKH FKRULF UROH LV H[TXLVLWH DQG WKH DWPRVSKHULF VWDJLQJ RQ D UXEEOH VWUHZQ VHW E\ GLUHFWRU 0LFKDHO /RQJKXUVW LV KDUG WR IDXOW ´ +RZHYHU KH EHOLHYHV WKH ELJJHVW FRXS GH WKHDWUH ± D IXOO VL]HG EXOO O\LQJ SURQH VHHPLQJ WR VORZ EUHDWKH EHIRUH ¿QDOO\ H[SLULQJ ± ³QRW RQO\ V\PEROLVHV D (XURSH WKDW¶V JLYLQJ XS WKH JKRVW EXW LQDGYHUWHQWO\ HPERGLHV WRR D VKRZ ZKLFK IRU DOO LWV ODXGDEOH DPELWLRQ DQG IDVFLQDWLRQ KDV DQ RGGO\ DVSK\[LDWHG TXDOLW\ ´ Until May 23.

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CRITIQUE

London’s leafy suburb of Dulwich is fortunate enough to play host to the ‘familiar genius’ of English graphic art, with the exhibition Ravilious, using the work of Eric Ravilious, running at the Dulwich Picture Gallery until August 31. Laura Cumming of the Guardian describes the exhibition as “Exhilarating, enthralling and outstandingly beautiful. It is also a revelation. This LV WKH ÂżUVW PDMRU H[KLELWLRQ VLQFH his death in 1942 to concentrate entirely on Ravilious as a painter rather than a printmaker, and through more than 80 watercolours RQH VHHV KLP QRW MXVW DV WKH IDPLOLDU genius of English graphic art but as a far more complex and mysterious mind - stranger, and even greater.â€? In the Telegraph, arts writer Richard 'RUPHQW ÂżQGV GHOLJKW LQ WKH VKRUW lived artist’s career, writing: “In a watercolour entitled ‘De-Icing Aircraft’, notice how the tail of the plane in the foreground neatly is placed in the exact centre of the page, dividing the picture into left and right sides as well as foreground and background. It is hard to look at the picture in the knowledge that Ravilious’s life was cut short in 1942 when his aircraft disappeared in appalling weather over Iceland. This geometric rigor is true of almost every work on display.â€? New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, meanwhile, looks to the East for a new exhibition. China: Through the Looking Glass focuses RQ &KLQHVH LPDJHU\ LQ DUW ÂżOP and fashion, and runs from May 7 to August 16. The exhibition will explore the impact of Chinese aesthetics on Western fashion and how China has fueled the fashionable imagination for centuries. Kristin Tice Studeman of Style.com writes: “A quick look around the room at the other fashion pieces on display and WKH DFFRPSDQ\LQJ &KLQHVH REMHFWV placed next to them underscored the deep connection between high fashion from the runways and one

Wild Grasses, Sandy Dunes – Chae Sung Phil, Opera Gallery Dubai

Art

of the oldest cultures in the world.â€? In the Guardian, Imogen Fox notes: “Those with a decent personal couture archive of John Galliano for Dior and Jean Paul Gaultier ZLOO KDYH D KHDG VWDUW MXGJLQJ E\ examples of silk embroidered robes on display. Kate Moss, for example, ZLOO EH ÂżQH 7KHUH ZLOO EH H[WUD points for anyone rocking a vintage cheongsam (do it Alexa) and there is an outside chance that Victoria Beckham will revisit the Cavalli vase number. Dangerous ground for the likes of Katy Perry who might be tempted to run away with the styling on this one, though.â€? At home in Dubai, but continuing the Eastern theme, is a new exhibition at DIFC’s Opera Gallery. Wild Grasses, Sandy Dunes is the ÂżUVW PDMRU VROR H[KLELWLRQ RI .RUHDQ artist Chae Sung-Pil, and runs from - 24 -

May 13 to May 27. The show reveals a series of new works from the artist’s studio that embody SungPil’s singular philosophy of earthpalette paintings. Arts blogger The 189 is a fan of the Korean’s work, and writes: “The most important element to Chae’s work is the media that’s used to produce it. He collects soil and sand from different parts of the world, using them to create his own paint that he mixes with gold and silver dust. He then applies the paints using a spilling method, where he drips water onto his own work to express the unpredictability of land and earth. My favourite pieces of all are the vase shapes with textures and colours inside, harking back to Korea’s history in ceramics and painting. They also remind me of the unstable nature of glazes on pottery at high temperatures.�

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ART & DESIGN

1.

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CREATING A BUZZ Nástio Mosquito, the enfant terrible of African art, is set to stun at 2015’s Venice Biennale

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1. DAILY LOVEMAKING, 2015, installation photograph; 2. DAILY LOVEMAKING, 2015, installation photograph; 3. Nastio Mosquito, 2015 4. Acts, 2012, video

ART & DESIGN

2.

I

t’s always a special achievement in the art world to have been there before the big bang, to be in at the JURXQG ÀRRU WR FHOHEUDWH DQ DUWLVW before their stratospheric rise to the top. For anyone interested in art, it’s about to happen again with Nåstio Mosquito. In December of last year he was named joint winner of the International Future Generation Art Prize for artists under EHIRUH VWDJLQJ KLV ¿UVW VROR H[KLELWLRQ DAILY LOVEMAKING, at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery. Ikon’s director, Jonathan Watkins,

WKHVH VPDOO HSLVRGHV RI FRQÂżUPDWLRQ DOZD\V galvanise us to keep at it.â€? Garrulous, charming and impossible to keep on-topic, conversation with Mosquito buzzes around themes with the same intensity as his artwork. One thing he is clear about is how important the Venice Biennale is in terms of KLV SURÂżOH DV DQ DUWLVW DQG WKH LPSRUWDQFH RI playing the game when it comes to courting patrons. He says: “We all know that it is an H[WUHPHO\ FHOHEUDWHG DQG DPELWLRQHG HYHQW WR be part of, like the Oscars or better the Cannes of the art world. For me these occasions tend

‘If I were dramatic I would tell you that my every breath is my art’ told the Guardian: “I think he is a really VLJQLÂżFDQW DUWLVWÂŤ , UHDOO\ WKLQN KHÂśV JRW DQ amazing career ahead of him. The art world has a lot to get from him, a lot of good things to inform our practise and the way we think.â€? ,Q DQ H[FOXVLYH LQWHUYLHZ ZLWK $,5 DKHDG RI the prestigious Venice Biennale where he will be presenting a condensed version of his Ikon project, Mosquito said of his recent award: “It was very important for my family and my VXSSRUW VWUXFWXUH ZLWKRXW WKHLU FRQÂżGHQFH in what I stand for I do not have the energy to deal with all the ups and downs that come when you choose love as your inner force...

WR H[SRVH P\ LQQHU FRQWUDGLFWLRQV ,I \RX GR not get the invitation for the party it hurts and LW UHÀHFWV WKH SHUFHSWLRQ RU UHODWLRQVKLS \RXU work has with your peers, but the moment you get invited you pray to get a phone call from \RXU EHVW IULHQG H[SUHVVLQJ VKH QHHGV \RX IRU a life or death circumstance. I do love what I GR EXW ,œP VWLOO ¿QGLQJ P\ IHHW ZKHQ LW FRPHV to recognising where I’m most effective doing what I love to do and Venice is part of this.� Mosquito was born in 1981 in Angola, was largely educated in Portugal, and now resides in Belgium when not travelling for his work. His performances embrace dance, video and - 28 -

3.

ONES TO WATCH Three other African artists to explore at the 2015 Venice Biennale, which has the theme “All The World’s Futures” Kay Hassan His towering paper constructions of Johannesburg’s “Everyday People” are jaw dropping. Emeka Ogboh The vibrant, active soundscape artist from Lagos will redefine the very terms of “art.” Wangechi Mutu “A Fantastic Journey” is the Kenyan visual artist’s first solo museum exhibition.

4. music, performance and installations – in short, he can be all things to all art-lovers. He says that his background feeds into his work, but then also: “This interview feeds my work. I am what you call a prostitute at the service of empathy. All, but the spirit of defeat, feeds me. My art is as personal as a commitment to stay connected to life for what it is worth... I’m VWLOO KDYLQJ WR GH¿QH ZKDW P\ DUW LV LV P\ DUW my ideas? Is my art the tangibility that erupts from those ideas? If I were dramatic I would tell you that my every breath is my art, and I do take my ability to inhale and exhale very personally.” If it’s hard to get a sense of the man, be sure that it is deliberate. Part of Mosquito’s performance is also performed under the pseudonym “Nástia,” a know-it-all type with a cod-Russian accent, who spouts inane management-speak in a cynical, profane and vulgar whirlwind of expression. Throughout his work he assumes roles, mimicking ZKDWHYHU KH QHHGV WR H[SUHVV WKH LGHDV ¿]]LQJ through him. For those on the front line of deciding what art can be, then May 3 – the day the exhibition opens, running through to July 26 – is a date for the diary. Nástio Mosquito is at Oratorio di San Ludovico, Dorsoduro, Venezia, 3 May – 26 July 2015. Organised by Ikon Gallery and Nuova Icona. - 29 -

ART & DESIGN

A

s the country with largest number of active contemporary artists in the Gulf, and the longest history of sending its artists overseas to study, Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene has been slowly blossoming over the last few years. The reason, according to art writer Myrna Ayad, is simple: it’s good. “The art is very impressive. It’s provocative, there’s intellectual engagement, thought, craft,â€? she says. As editor of Contemporary Kingdom: The Saudi Art Scene Now, a 360-page book published last year that surveys visual arts practices from the Kingdom, Ayad says she ÂłNQHZ LQ ÂżYH \HDUV ZHÂśG KDYH WR do a second volume. That’s how progressive the Saudi artists are.â€? Art in the Kingdom, she continues, is supported by an army of cultural protagonists who believe in it. “What’s amazing is this community

effort – everyone has each other’s back, they all want to support Saudi Arabian art,â€? she says. And this army isn’t just Saudi, says artist and curator Lulwah Al Homoud. For the Shanghai World Expo in 2010, Homoud cocurated Nabatt: A Sense of Being, featuring over 23 Saudi artists and 130 contemporary works from the Kingdom, at the Shanghai Duolun Museum of Modern Art. “The museum said if the works were not up to museum standard, they would not accept them,â€? Homoud recalls. “They did not refuse one piece – they thought they were all of international level. And the Chinese were amazed by the Saudi art because we had conceptual and different mediums. It created a lot of interest.â€? +RPRXG LV RQH RI ÂżYH IHPDOH 6DXGL partners of Cube Arts gallery in Dubai, which focuses on art from the Kingdom and the wider Gulf region. “Creativity is really high in Saudi Arabia and the art is very diverse,â€?

she says. “If you look at the south [of the country], it’s completely different to the north. In the gallery, for example, we have artwork from the south that uses really bold colours, while in the desert area [artists] use more sandy colours. You wouldn’t think the pieces were from the same country sometimes.â€? The gallery has experienced keen interest from both regional and international collectors, buoyed by initiatives such as Art Dubai that bring art audiences to the city. “Saudi art has been in the market, HVSHFLDOO\ GXULQJ WKH ODVW ÂżYH \HDUV ´ Homoud says. “What we’re trying to bring now is [the understanding] that Saudi art did not pop up suddenly. There has been a long movement and that’s why we show artists like Mohammad Siam and Mohammad Al A’ajam. They are like the old masters of Saudi art, so it’s not just contemporary.â€? The misconception that Saudi contemporary art emerged from a vacuum only in the past few years

CR EATI V E K I NGDOM *

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*

Saudi Arabia’s contemporary art scene is on the rise. AIR looks at its emergence and the challenges it faces

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1.

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All images courtesy of Cube Arts and the artists.

ART & DESIGN

2.

1. Abdulrahman Al Nughaimshi Spirit, 2014 Acrylic on canvas 70 x 100 cm

2. Mohammad Siam Siamism 5, 2009 Acrylic on canvas 100 x 120 cm

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3. Mohammad Al Ajlan Untitled, 2012 Acrylic on canvas, newspaper and glue 100 x 100 cm

was also the theme of a recent exhibition in Jeddah. Fast Forward, curated by Bashar Al Shroogi as part of the second edition of the 21,39’ Jeddah Arts festival, featured works from pioneering artists such as Abdulhalim Radwi, Abdulnasser Gharem and Ahmed Mater. “Why did we call it Fast Forward?” asks Shroogi. “When we talk about the story of art in Saudi Arabia, you might think that we mean the art movement since 2008. What we tried to accomplish [with the exhibition] was to say that there were several achievements and expressions before this date that laid the foundations of the contemporary movement.” Some of these pivotal moments included Jeddah mayor Mohammed Said Farsi’s efforts in the 1970s to bring art to the city’s public spaces with sculptures by local and international artists such as Henry Moore and Joan Miró, which are still in place today. Gharem and Mater, meanwhile, were among a handful of Saudi artists who emerged from WKH LQÀXHQWLDO $O 0LIWDKD $UWLVWV¶ Village in Abha in the 1990s. The pair went on to co-found the Edge of Arabia collective in 2003 with British artist Stephen Stapleton, which has exhibited in Europe and the Middle East and is currently touring the US. The internet also played a key role. “Artists had more access to information, more access to other art and artists,” says Ayad. “At the same time, the Middle Eastern art industry was booming so all of this planted the seed for where we are today.” While new initiatives such as 21,39’ Jeddah Arts have been embraced by the art community, more government support is needed. “Government support is very minimal,” says Ayad, “so a lot of the responsibility falls on the patrons and galleries like Athr in Jeddah, who I think is a pioneer because it doesn’t just serve as a commerical space, it offers workshops and training programmes.”

Homoud agrees that galleries are leading the way. “I think we’re doing some kind of role that the government needs to do, which is bringing the cultural face of the country to the outside [world].” The lack of critical thinking is also a key challenge, she believes. “We have a lot happening, but most of the time art exhibitions are covered in the [Saudi] media as events. We really need serious

‘Creativity is really high in Saudi Arabia and the art is very diverse’ art critics in Saudi because only when there is serious criticism can you differentiate between good and bad. We don’t want [contemporary art] to be a bubble, we want the development to be steady.” Both women believe Western stereotypes mean Saudi Arabia is often misunderstood internationally. “The media doesn’t give justice to the country,” says Homoud. “There’s a lot happening, but [the rest of the world] doesn’t see the positive - 33 -

aspects, they only see the negative aspects. And this is what we try to bring – it’s not propaganda, but we want people to see [Saudi art] and make up their own mind.” And while contemporary art is often used to express political views or make social statements, Western audiences must bear in mind that the Kingdom’s art scene is part of a society that is the centre of the ,VODPLF ZRUOG DQG UHÀHFWV ORQJ KHOG values and traditions. “Nudity, for example, has never been in our culture as Muslims,” says Homoud. “The concept Muslims work on is very universal – it’s about God, it’s about creation, so it has nothing to do with people or nudes.” Ultimately, though, Homoud hopes art will help bridge gaps between Saudi and Western cultures. “I believe 100 per cent that art brings people together and politics divides them,” she says. “Culturally, if we look at the Islamic civilisation they adopted so many different cultures and built upon them. For example, if you look at the most beautiful mosques they were originally Byzantine churches. I think merging cultures is a good thing.”

ART & DESIGN

IMAGES OF

ISLAM

Lara Brunt chats to renowned photographer of the Islamic world, Peter Sanders, about his extraordinary career

“I

’ve been on a pretty interesting journey,” Peter Sanders concedes, as he sits opposite me in The Empty Quarter gallery in Dubai. Dressed in loose white cotton clothes with a neat grey beard, the softly spoken photographer exudes a calmness that seems at odds both with our location LQ 'XEDL¶V EXV\ ¿QDQFLDO GLVWULFW DQG KLV early career snapping rock stars in London’s Swinging ‘60s. The British-born photographer is in town for the launch of his latest exhibition, The World is but a Moment. Featuring photographs from his archive of more than a quarter of a million images taken over the last four decades in countries such as Yemen, Syria and Saudi Arabia, the exhibition offers a glimpse into traditional Islamic societies as they once were. “When I think about [my career], it was like I was taken up in a whirlwind, dropped in all these places and given incredible access to see them really before the end of something,” he says. After spending the 1960s photographing the likes of Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix, Sanders’ went down a very different path in the decade that followed. “My photography has always followed my life,” he explains. “The music scene was happening in the ‘60s and that was how I cut my teeth in photography. After ‘71, I started becoming interested in more spiritual things and decided to go to India – The Beatles had been [in 1968] and it was very fashionable to go to India in those days.” During his seven-month sojourn, Sanders - 34 -

All images Š Peter Sanders

explored different religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Islam, before returning to the UK. “Some of my friends had got quite heavily into drugs and black magic. Others had got into religion,â€? he says. Sanders was drawn to Islam and decided to embrace the Muslim way of life. “I just felt a very strong inclination that was the direction I should go in,â€? he says. +LV QHZIRXQG IDLWK OHG KLP ÂżUVW WR 0RURFFR

rock ‘n’ roll to Islam as a huge leap, Sanders doesn’t see it that way. “Photographing [musicians in the ‘60s] was a way for me to have a one-to-one with them and it’s the same with the people and places I go to [now],� he says. He is also keen to show a different side of his religion than the one that is often portrayed in Western media. He is currently working on a book, Meetings with Mountains, which

‘It was like I was taken up in a whirlwind, dropped in all these places and given incredible access’ followed by the Holy cities of Mecca and Medina, where he convinced the authorities to let him photograph the Hajj at a time when few professional photographers had access to Islam’s holiest sanctuaries. “It took me about WZR ZHHNV JRLQJ IURP RIÂżFH WR RIÂżFH WR JDLQ permission. There was huge interest in the pictures and they appeared in Paris Match, Sunday Times, The Observer and Stern magazine,â€? he recalls. The photographer has continued to travel throughout the Middle East and Africa, documenting cultures on the brink of change. “The Western world is very far-reaching, everyone has mobile phones now so it is very different. I remember going to Mauritania when there was nothing – the place I went to took 24 hours to get there; now there’s a road and you can do it in a few hours. Things are now changing so rapidly so I’m grateful that I saw that particular period,â€? he says. And while many may see the transition from - 35 -

focuses on Muslims who have spent their life in prayer and study. “Just looking at their faces, I get really inspired because they have such amazing faces: calm, beautiful,â€? he says. “It’s a side of Islam that the world has never experienced – now they’re being bombarded with extremists and there’s all this anger and hatred. And here is the complete opposite, so I feel it needs to be seen to balance things out.â€? The photographer who prefers “a simple, traditional life, being closer to natureâ€? then surprises me by saying that he is a fan of 'XEDL Âł, ÂżUVW FDPH KHUH LQ WKH Âľ V ZKHQ there was nothing here. I like the fact that no one is trying to impose [their views on] anybody who comes here. It means people meet and communicate and there’s not this division. We need more places like that,â€? he insists. The World is but a Moment is on show at The Empty Quarter in DIFC until June 15, theemptyquarter.com

ART & DESIGN

Tumi, to you

The luxe luggage company is celebrating its 40th anniversary with a beautiful new capsule collection. The firm’s creative director George Esquivel takes AIR through the highlights

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Y

ou’ve got to have a certain amount of style to be creative director at a highSUR¿OH GHVLJQ company, and George Esquivel has it in spades. Settling into a comfortable leather chair at Dubai’s Peruvian hotspot Coya, the Californian master designer with the surfer-dude accent is discussing the inspiration behind Tumi’s 1975 capsule collection, created to celebrate 40 years since the company was founded (in Peru, which is why the venue choice is so apt). “The whole point of this collection was to do something cool,” Esquivel says. “It’s the aesthetics, the reason they brought me on was to change the aesthetics of the brand a little bit. I thought, ‘How am I going to make something graphic but not offensive?’ We’re not Givenchy, we’re not Bambi and

off collaboration. Tumi were at the same time looking for a new creative director, and they didn’t realise at ¿UVW WKDW WKH\¶G IRXQG WKH DQVZHU to both their problems. Esquivel says: “It’s been an amazing ride. I’ve been there now over two years and I think we have accomplished a lot. 7KH EUDQG LV GH¿QLWHO\ PRYLQJ LQ the right direction. Things like this don’t happen overnight but we have been able to do a lot of cool things. This year we’re involved in Formula 1, we did The Americans in Paris, which is a Vogue initiative, and we sponsor ten designers that Anna Wintour picks. Then we have this collection, it’s our 40th anniversary and we’re celebrating all these things throughout the year.” The 1975 collection is inspired by Tumi’s roots as a functional yet stylish luggage manufacturer that uses the highest quality materials to create bags that will stand the test of time. Esquivel prefers his leather

‘Esquivel prefers his leather to gleam from new, and then become artfully distressed’ the Rottweiler but I still wanted to do something graphic that would stand out. What I wanted to do was marry history, which was leather, and the modern which was the ballistic, and I think it turned out beautifully.” Esquivel initially had reservations when Tumi came calling. Having worked with Tommy +LO¿JHU RQ D VKRH range and a capsule collection for Chloé, KLV ¿UVW FRQWDFW ZLWK the brand was when they approached him for a one-

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to gleam from new, and then become artfully distressed as the years pass. He gestures to the chair he’s sitting on, and says: “I like leather that gets scratched. I keep talking about these chairs but these are going to look beautiful in ten years. I like things that are perfect but at the same time I like mixing. For example, look at my watch. I always get a watchstrap that has tension between modern and artistic, when there’s that tension and they’re both pulling their weight, which is what I think this collection is. If you have an equal balance it looks beautiful, if it’s slightly too far one way it looks a little techy and if the other way it looks too crafted. I like the balance.”

JEWELLERY

K

nown for its bold coloured stones and contemporary shapes, Vhernier makes jewels that demand attention. And the striking designs test even the most talented craftsman, says Carlo Traglio, president and CEO of the Italian jewellery house. “[Making] Vhernier jewellery is UHDOO\ D QLJKWPDUH ´ KH FRQÂżGHV “because every time it is a challenge.â€? Vhernier was established over 30 years ago as a small goldsmith’s workshop in Valenza in Piedmont, a town known for its goldsmiths and

highly skilled master craftsmen. 7KH Ă€HGJOLQJ ÂżUPÂśV FRQWHPSRUDU\ and unconventional jewels caught the eye of Traglio, a businessman with a passion for designing and handcrafting jewellery, who bought the brand in 2001. “I was always a fan of Vhernier and it was a dream for me to have a brand like Vhernier, with the skills, especially, that they have,â€? Traglio says. “So I decided to buy this little brand and develop it.â€? Since then, Vhernier has opened stores in Paris, Geneva, Athens, Beverly Hills and Miami, as well as expanding from its Milan base to Rome, Venice and Capri. In 2012, the brand made

its Middle East debut, opening a boutique at the exclusive Boulevard at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in Dubai. Vhernier strives to use unusual materials in its jewellery, made using sophisticated techniques. “We are so recognisable because of the volumes, the contemporary shapes and the strange materials we use, such as ebony, and unusual stones like sugilite, a beautiful violet stone that was the last one to be discovered in the 20th century,� he explains. Chunky rings featuring three layers – semi-precious stone, mother-of-pearl and topped with rock crystal – have become a brand

BOLD AND

BEAUTIFUL

Vhernier’s new fine jewellery collection adds Eastern influences to its distinctly Italian style

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signature. Known as transparencies, the pieces are polished to a mirror ¿QLVK XVLQJ GLDPRQG GXVW ³7KH rock crystal acts as a kind of lens – if there is an imperfection underneath you can see it, so the gem must be perfect. It also gives the jewel a lot of light so this is the secret of our pieces,� he says. The new 2015 collection features a luminous addition to the Aladino line of rings, which feature this transparency technique. The rose gold mount is set with slim layers of lapis lazuli, white mother-of-pearl from Australia or grey Tahitian mother-of-pearl, and topped with rock crystal.

There are also typically vibrant additions to the popular Eclisse and Freccia lines. Set in rose gold, the new Eclisse rings feature two mirror images revealing lapis lazuli, jade and white diamonds; white motherof-pearl opposing grey motherof-pearl; or white diamonds and black diamonds. The Freccia line, meanwhile, features rings, bracelets DQG IRU WKH ÂżUVW WLPH FKRNHUV ZLWK sinuous triangles in rose gold with lapis lazuli, jade, turquoise, motherof-pearl or carnelian stones. Equally eye-catching are Cuscino rings (below) in rose gold with cushion cut citrus quartz, purple amethyst or blue topaz, reminiscent

of Flowers, Vhernier’s High Jewellery line that was inspired by Traglio’s own collection of precious gems and those of his customers. “Our customers had big stones – diamonds, sapphires, rubies – in their drawer or safe that they couldn’t wear anymore because they were too traditional, so I started to remount beautiful stones like FDUDW ' Ă€DZOHVV GLDPRQGV >IRU them],â€? he says. PavĂŠ diamonds often feature in Vhernier’s pieces, as witnessed in the Abbraccio line of earrings. The new interpretations feature a soft knot in rose gold or white gold; full pavĂŠ white diamonds; or white and

‘Known as transparencies, the pieces are polished to a mirror finish using diamond dust’ black diamonds. Meanwhile, PlissĂŠ (opposite) is a new line “inspired by the tradition of origami and fashion designer Issey Miyake, who I’ve admired for a long time,â€? says Traglio. The surface of the PlissĂŠ rings, cuffs and earrings features a faceted, geometric pattern that UHĂ€HFWV WKH OLJKW $YDLODEOH LQ ZKLWH or rose gold, or white gold edged with diamonds, the pieces are SROLVKHG WR D PLUURU ÂżQLVK or come in a new brushed JROG ÂżQLVK Âł3OLVVp LV WKH future of Vhernier,â€? says Traglio. “It’s very contemporary and very ‘rock’.â€? Available at 9KHUQLHUÂśV Ă€DJVKLS store at Jumeirah Emirates Towers and Harvey Nichols Dubai.

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TIMEPIECES

TARIQ MALIK Save the Day-Date

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ne of the most anticipated auctions of recent times is the upcoming Phillips “Glamorous Day Dateâ€? themed auction. Up for grabs are 60 incredible examples of Rolex’s most prestigious line of watches. Curated by Aurel Bacs, the auction is expected to set new records for the Day-Date, just as his ultimate Christie’s auction did for the “Rolex Daytona: Lesson Oneâ€?. Here, we EULHĂ€\ ORRN DW WKH KLVWRU\ RI WKLV illustrious model, as well as provide our top lots to watch at the event in Geneva on May 9. Introduced at Basel in 1956, the Rolex Day-Date was initially expected to be a niche model within the collection. Made available in only precious metals, and having the day and date function with automatic movement allowed Rolex to compete DW WKH KLJKHVW OHYHOV RI ZDWFKPDNLQJ In addition to the watch itself, a new bracelet was introduced which Rolex named the “Presidentâ€?. A famous Rolex campaign aptly describes this watch: “Men who guide the destinies of the world wear Rolexâ€?. Quite accurate considering Eisenhower, Kennedy and Fidel Castro all wore Rolex. Much of the fascination of the Day-Date can be attributed to the amazing variety of models produced from precious metals such as yellow, rose and white gold as well DV SODWLQXP +RZHYHU ZKDW PDNHV these watches truly stand out are the amazing and varied dials, with

Rolex using hard stones such as opal, jasper and onyx as well as UDUH VWRQHV OLNH DPPRQLWH FRUDO DQG SHWULÂżHG IRVVLO ,Q WKH V and ‘80s, the famously conservative brand created a beautifully rich and vibrant collection of handPDGH HQDPHO GLDOV DOVR NQRZQ DV “Stellaâ€? dials. These Stella dials came in a rainbow of colours, including mint green, hunter green, oxblood, burgundy, orange, blue and yellow. Stellas have become highly collectable. At Basel 2013, Rolex WRRN LQVSLUDWLRQ IURP WKRVH 6WHOOD dials and released a new line of DayDates with different colour dials on matching leather straps. At Basel 2015, a chapter ended and another started, with Rolex announcing the discontinuation of the Day-Date II and releasing a new model named the Day-Date 40 with a completely revamped movement. /RRNLQJ IRUZDUG WR WKH XSFRPLQJ “Glamorous Day Dateâ€? auction, here are my top lots to watch.

The Emperor The highlight of the sale is the Platinum reference 1831. Made in D YHU\ OLPLWHG SLHFHV LQ IRU the Shah of Iran, this watch is the Holy Grail for Day Date collectors. The case is inspired by the Oyster - 41 -

quartz and is supported by a unique VDWLQ ÂżQLVK EUDFHOHW 7KH 6WHOOD dial with diamonds is special; it is larger than usual to accommodate the larger case while the diamonds are also uniquely placed. Weighing 300 grams, this is a massive watch in many ways, and when it comes to provenance and rarity, this is hard to beat. It is estimated to sell in the range of CHF 120,000 to CHF 240,000.

The Big Kahuna An early platinum model, the reference 6612, is another star of the show. Made in 1958, it is one of RQO\ WZR NQRZQ H[DPSOHV WKRVH two having consecutive serial numbers which emphasis the rarity of this particular model. Platinum is such a beautiful and understated material, suitable for all occasions. In watches, it is also highly valued DV RQO\ IHZ ZDWFKPDNHUV DUH VNLOOHG HQRXJK WR ZRUN ZLWK WKH PDWHULDO The particular beauty of this piece is undoubtedly the dial with its unique FLUFXODU ¿QLVKLQJ DQG GLDPRQG PDUNHUV ,W LV HVWLPDWHG WR VHOO IRU CHF 100,000 to CHF 200,000. Tariq Malik is co-founder of the UAE’s only vintage watch boutique, Momentum. momentum-dubai.com

TIMEPIECES

Art Watch Industry

the watch is, in effect, the medium. George Bamford, of eponymous customization business Bamford Watch Department, met Marc Quinn while jogging on the beach one winter holiday. George noticed a nice Panerai that Marc was wearing and WKH\ ERQGHG RYHU WKHLU ORYH RI ÂżQH Swiss clockwork; a series of special Quinn-designed and Bamfordcustomised Rolexes followed in short order. It is a phenomenon that is happening at all levels of the industry. Swatch began working with artists in 1984, barely a year DIWHU LWV ÂżUVW ZDWFKHV DQG LWV PLG Eighties series of Haring watches have become collectable. There have also been Swatch watches by, among others, Alfred Hofkunst, Jeanand golfers, has engaged with Art Michel Folon, Mimmo Paladino and ast November I Basel as a sponsor of the world’s Renzo Piano, with the packaging happened to be most famous art fair. What is more, being as much a part of the art (or invited to Saudi the brand hired former Palais de watch, depending on your view). Arabia, one of those Tokyo director Marc-Olivier Wahler Meanwhile, at the opposite end few countries where to serve as its inaugural “guest of the scale in terms of price and things are done in a curatorâ€? for the Audemars Piguet Art production numbers, Greubel Forsey way unlike anywhere else. And so Commission, followed by Chinese has worked with British sculptor it was with an unexpected sense of Willard Wigan on microsculptures familiar recognition that in Jeddah I artist and curator Ruijun Shen. The Le Brassus-based watchmaker that are “exhibitedâ€? in a Greubel came across a massive billboard with the words “Contemporary Kingdom; joins brands with long histories of involvement in the art world. Rolex’s The Saudi Art Scene Nowâ€? and, in mentoring programme has paired slightly smaller letters, the name of superstar artists including Anish the lead sponsor – none other than Kapoor and David Hockney with my old friends Messrs Vacheron those just starting their careers. Constantin. Even though I’m not The Fondation Cartier (regarded as Swiss, I nevertheless felt pride that one of the world’s most innovative this 259-year-old Swiss company Forsey watch, with a special exhibition spaces) celebrates its 30th magnifying viewing chamber. with a reputation for making some of the most beautiful timepieces was anniversary this year, the Fondation Major cultural institutions, too, Louis Vuitton opens in Paris this in the process of cracking the Saudi are accepting the sponsorship of autumn, and the Swatch Art Peace market, and it made sense that they watch marques. Last year, Breguet Hotel in Shanghai is more artists’ were using art. made a major donation to the colony than hotel. It is said that art is a universal Louvre, while Montblanc’s award for These initiatives have come about language – and its enthusiastic patronage of the arts has become an as a result of a CEO or owner’s adoption by the watch world is established and respected honour. genuine passion for creativity and IXUWKHU HYLGHQFH RI WKH HIÂżFDF\ RI Of course Andy Warhol, himself a the arts. The results of this closeness big watch collector, did much to clear this lingua franca, as the worlds have generated some interesting of horology and art cosy up ever the way for such links between art work over the years: Keith Haring’s more closely. Even those brands and commerce – but the relationship 1984 work Swatch World Breakdance with watches is special as timepieces WUDGLWLRQDOO\ LGHQWLÂżHG ZLWK RWKHU ÂżHOGV RI KXPDQ HQGHDYRXU KDYH VHHQ Championship and CĂŠsar’s famous have become collectable works of art sculptures made from compacted a value in linking themselves with in their own right. Freed from its remains of fake Cartier watches are the art world. Audemars Piguet, for functional obligations, the watch has just two of the better-known works. instance, a brand known more for assumed a totemic status as a store And there is plenty of work where appearing on the wrists of rap stars of cultural value.

and the

Nick Foulkes on why the old masters of the watch world are increasingly focusing their gaze on the business of art

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‘Timepieces have become collectable works of art in their own right’

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TIMEPIECES

‘The wristwatch is now a bona-fide auction category of its own, with soaring values that begin to compete with those of canvases’ - 44 -

Today we hear much about mÊtiers d’art; the application of a wide range of craft skills from enamelling to needlework. The term has been used before, but in my experience it only gained traction in the watch industry in the second half of the past decade when Vacheron Constantin began to communicate XVLQJ WKLV WHUP VSHFL¿FDOO\ DQG LWV collection of mask watches, inspired by pieces in the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, remain to my mind a landmark collection. Today watchmakers unveil a new mÊtier d’art – micromosaic, embroidery ¹ ZLWK WKH VDPH ÀRXULVK WKDW QRW so long ago they employed when launching a new complication. If there were such a thing as a cultural league table, then watches would be moving up it: any visitor to the Patek Philippe Museum in

Geneva cannot fail to be struck by the beauty of the pieces on display, whether the exquisite miniature enamels painted for Patek by Suzanne Rohr, or the works of anonymous artists from the Renaissance onwards who have lent their skills to beautify mechanical timepieces. And from sublime beauty to the rather more pedestrian question of value. As well as the six- (and PRUH IUHTXHQWO\ VHYHQ ÂżJXUH price tags that attach themselves to contemporary masterpieces of watchmaking, the wristwatch is now D ERQD ÂżGH DXFWLRQ FDWHJRU\ RI LWV own, with soaring values that begin to compete with those of canvases by great artists. Of course, the higher values rise, the more interest the auction houses take and increasingly auction experts are performing an - 45 -

almost curatorial role in preparing catalogues that are reference works in themselves. But perhaps one of the more fascinating phenomena is that personnel from the art world are being attracted to join the watch industry. Nicolas Bos, who runs Van Cleef & Arpels, is one of the more engaging chief executives to work in the watch and jewellery industry today and he has a deep understanding of modern and contemporary art and a wide framework of cultural reference. It comes as no surprise, therefore, to learn that Bos began his professional life working for the Fondation Cartier. It is only a personal opinion, but the watch industry already has enough MBAs and could do with a few more leaders from the art world.

STILL GOT IT AIR LOOKS AT HOW INDIE ACTRESS CHLOË SEVIGNY BECAME AN UNCONVENTIONAL STYLE ICON

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he’s been dubbed “the coolest girl in the worldâ€? by the New Yorker and ‘’the new, postmodern grunge Audrey Hepburnâ€? by Vogue, yet ChloĂŤ Sevigny is not your typical VW\OH LFRQ (OÂżQ IDFHG DQG VOLJKWO\ RGG ORRNLQJ IRU RYHU WZR GHFDGHV 6HYLJQ\ KDV GHOLJKWHG IDVKLRQ IDQV ZLWK KHU LGLRV\QFUDWLF ZD\ RI PL[LQJ FKDULW\ VKRS ÂżQGV ZLWK GHVLJQHU pieces. “She’s a chameleon,â€? Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough, the design duo behind Proenza Schouler, once remarked to the LA 7LPHV Âł6KH FDQ JR IURP VLWWLQJ RQ WKH Ă€RRU LQ MHDQV DQG D GLUW\ 7 VKLUW to changing into couture to become the Hollywood ideal. The transition never looks studied. It’s this ease WKDW LQHYLWDEO\ FRPHV RII DV ÂľFRROÂś ´ While the enigmatic actress, designer and original street-style LFRQ KDV QHYHU HQMR\HG WKH FRROHU WKDQ FRRO Âľ,W JLUOÂś WDJ Âą Âł, QHYHU IHOW that was the correct label, because , VDZ WKDW DV PHDQLQJ ¾ÀDVK LQ WKH pan,’ or ‘socialite,’ or ‘rich girl,’ or ‘druggie girl,’ or ‘model girl,’ even though its origin is Clara Bow, who was the coolest thing ever,â€? she told Town & Country magazine in 2013 – VKH KDV OLIWHG WKH OLG RQ KHU HFOHFWLF IDVKLRQ VHQVH LQ D QHZ FRIIHH WDEOH tome. 3XEOLVKHG E\ 5L]]ROL WKH VHOI curated book catalogues the images VKH IHHOV EHVW UHSUHVHQW KHU Âł$IWHU being pigeonholed, I wanted to unSLJHRQKROH P\VHOI ´ VKH VD\V 7KHUH are teenage snapshots taken by her KLJK VFKRRO IULHQGV VWLOOV IURP KHU HGJ\ ÂżOP UROHV 0LX 0LX DQG &KORp FDPSDLJQV PDJD]LQH HGLWRULDOV IRU Purple, i-D and The Face shot by top photographers like Mark Borthwick DQG -XHUJHQ 7HOOHU DQG KRPDJHV E\ artists including Elizabeth Peyton and Karen Kilimnik. 7KH SURMHFW FDPH DERXW DIWHU Sevigny stumbled across a Japanese IDQ ERRN PDGH XS HQWLUHO\ RI SDSDUD]]L SKRWRJUDSKV VRPH RI ZKLFK ZHUH KDUGO\ Ă€DWWHULQJ Âł,Q WKLV DJH RI WKH ,QWHUQHW LWÂśV D ZD\ - 49 -

RI UHFODLPLQJ P\ LPDJH ´ VKH WROG Elle magazine. “There are so many EDG SKRWR VKRRWV RI PH VR PDQ\ EDG SDSDUD]]L VKRWV 7KLV LV D ZD\ RI UHFODLPLQJ P\VHOI DQG P\ LGHQWLW\ ´ Sevigny was born in 1974 in Massachusetts and raised in the DIĂ€XHQW WRZQ RI 'DULHQ &RQQHFWLFXW D PHUH PLQXWH WUDLQ ULGH IURP Manhattan. As a teenager, she began hanging out in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village, D JDWKHULQJ VSRW IRU DYDQW JDUGH artists and creative types. Here, she FDXJKW WKH H\H RI $QGUHD /LQHWW WKH WKHQ IDVKLRQ HGLWRU RI D WHHQ VW\OH magazine called Sassy. “She was standing by a newsstand,â€? Linett recalled to the Mail on Sunday in 2001, “probably playing truant, but something DERXW KHU MXVW FDXJKW P\ H\H 6KH ZDV ZHDULQJ D SDLU RI HQRUPRXVO\ oversized camel overalls, a large

‘She can go from sitting on the floor in jeans and a T-shirt to changing into couture to become the Hollywood ideal’ skater’s hat and her waist-length hair was in Rasta braids. I’d never seen anyone that young look so cool, \HW VR XQIDVKLRQDEOH Âł:H GLG D VKRRW ZLWK KHU IRU WKH magazine, and then her mum called PH DVNLQJ LI &KORs FRXOG ZRUN DV DQ LQWHUQ IRU XV &KORs VHHPHG VR mellow about the whole thing that I had no idea she wanted to be an actor, and I don’t think she did then either,â€? Linett mused. At 18, Sevigny moved to Manhattan permanently and interned at Sassy. Her unconventional beauty and eccentric style led to more modelling work and DSSHDUDQFHV LQ PXVLF YLGHRV IRU 7KH Lemonheads and Sonic Youth. By the mid-1990s, she had become D UHJXODU IDFH DPRQJ 1HZ <RUNÂśV KLS IDVKLRQ DUW DQG FOXEELQJ VFHQHV

‘Vintage has always been at the core of Sevigny’s edgy style and she lists Patti Smith and Marlene Dietrich as her style inspirations’ 6KH PDGH KHU ÂżOP GHEXW LQ WKH FRQWURYHUVLDO IHDWXUH .LGV written by Harmony Korine, a young screenwriter she had met during her days in Washington Square Park. In VKH ZDV 2VFDU QRPLQDWHG IRU her role in Boys Don’t Cry. Since then, Sevigny has starred in ÂżOPV VXFK DV $PHULFDQ 3V\FKR DQG Woody Allen’s Melinda And Melinda, DQG ZRQ D *ROGHQ *OREH IRU KHU UROH in the television series Big Love. Yet, LWÂśV KHU IDVKLRQ FKRLFHV WKDW KDYH ZRQ her more plaudits, something she ZRUULHV PD\ KDYH DIIHFWHG KHU ÂżOP career. Âł,ÂśP DIUDLG WKDW PD\EH SHRSOH think there’s more personality than acting ability,â€? she told V Magazine recently. “What I did on Big Love, Hit & Miss and American Horror 6WRU\ LWÂśV QRW OLNH ,ÂśP MXVW SOD\LQJ the same character over and over again. I would like to be respected more as an actress. It’s not like I can complain about anything. I think I’ve had great opportunities, but you

can always have more.â€? Vintage has always been at the FRUH RI 6HYLJQ\ÂśV HGJ\ VW\OH Âą VKH ZDV DPRQJ WKH ÂżUVW WR PDNH LW FRRO on the red carpet – and she lists Patti Smith and Marlene Dietrich as her style inspirations. Her brother, meanwhile, was probably her biggest LQĂ€XHQFH JURZLQJ XS “He was pretty radical,â€? she told British Vogue last month. “He was into the skateboarding, rap music and hardcore scene, and the kids he brought around to the house - his JLUOIULHQGV DQG KLV ER\IULHQGV WKH\ ZHUH ZLOGO\ H[RWLF FUHDWXUHV , UHDOO\ ORRNHG XS WR KLP DQG RI course, my parents. And the Esprit FDWDORJXHV ZHUH ZLOGO\ LQĂ€XHQWLDO , ZRXOG GR WKH GLIIHUHQW VL]H EUDLGV and the bows and wear mismatching patterns because I really wanted to look like the girl in the catalogue.â€? Sevigny has her own line with New York label, Opening Ceremony. “Every season I’m torn between the nice Connecticut girl, the alterna- 50 -

girl, and the hip-hop girl, so it’s a PLVKPDVK RI WKDW ´ VKH WROG IDVKLRQ website style.com. Her spring/ summer 2015 collection was inspired by rebellion in the schoolyard, GUDZLQJ XSRQ VDWLULFDO Âľ V FXOW ÂżOP +HDWKHUV DQG -DSDQHVH +DUDMXNX culture. The result? A collection RI VXOWU\ DQG SUHSS\ SLQDIRUHV bathing suits and suspender skirts. Âł1RZ WKDW ,ÂśP SXVKLQJ , IHHO like I’m not supposed to wear UXIĂ€HV EXW , VWLOO ZDQW WR 6R , WULHG to incorporate them in ways that looked a little tougher, or a little more mature, but also sweet.â€? 1HYHU RQH WR FRQIRUP 6HYLJQ\ admits she has maintained her cool VWDWXV IDU ORQJHU WKDQ DQ\ RI KHU contemporaries. “To be honest,â€? VKH FRQIHVVHG to Town and Country, “I’m still cooler than a lot RI DFWUHVVHV ´

© CHLOË SEVIGNY, Rizzoli New York, 2015

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The Rolling Stone Years by Baron Wolman shows at Proud Chelsea, London until May 24, 2015 - 56 -

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STILL CLINGING TOGETHER The Ivy, that bastion of British moversand-shakers, has an unrivalled history and, reopening after a six-month refurbishment, a glorious future WORDS : Richard Jenkins

“W

e will always come see you,” said actress Alice Delysia to restaurateur Abel Giandellini, the entrance to whose small café was obscured by building works. “We will cling together like the ivy.” Those words, taken from a popular song of the day, were spoken almost a hundred years ago, but Delysia’s vow remains unbroken. Since that point, Giandellini’s small café, beloved by London theatregoers, has become one of the city’s PRVW HPEOHPDWLF ¿QH GLQLQJ restaurants and, in recent decades, the single most important place to be seen if you are on the ladder to stardom. Giandellini and Maître d’Hôtel Mario Gallati had joined forces

in 1917 to turn the former’s café LQWR RQH RI /RQGRQ¶V ¿QHVW GLQLQJ rooms, and the off-the-cuff remark from Delysia gave them the name they had been searching for. An institution was born. Until Gallati left in 1947, The Ivy attracted the great and the good of the theatre crowd, from wealthy watchers to the actors themselves. Laurence Olivier, Marlene Dietrich and Margot Fonteyn could all be found holding court at what A.A. Gill described as the “fretted, scarred, screwed and glued plywood upended tables and chairs” in his 1997 paean to the restaurant. The good times were sadly curtailed in 1947 when Gallati OHIW WR WU\ DQG UHYLYH WKH ÀDJJLQJ /H Caprice, and Giandellini struggled to hold the place together. In 1950, The ,Y\ ZDV VROG IRU WKH ¿UVW WLPH DQG its reputation sank lower and lower - 58 -

Sketch of the Ivy’s new interior

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Fernando Piere

Gary Lee

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Sketch of the Ivy’s new interior

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‘Throughout the 90s the world’s biggest stars flocked through the doors’ H[WHQVLYH UHQRYDWLRQ RI LWV ORQJ OLIH )HUQDQGR 3HLUH GLUHFWRU RI 7KH ,Y\ WHOOV $,5 ³7KLV LV QRW MXVW D UHIXUELVKPHQW LW LV D UHLQYHQWLRQ 7KH EDVLF WDEOH OD\RXW KDV KDUGO\ FKDQJHG VLQFH WKH EXLOGLQJ ZDV SXW XS LQ ZKLOVW WKH /RQGRQ UHVWDXUDQW VFHQH KDV HYROYHG HQRUPRXVO\ VLQFH WKHQ :KHQ ZH

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CAINE AND ABLE

After 50 years and over 120 films, British actor Michael Caine is hotter than ever, writes Garth Pearce

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S

IR Michael Caine seems to be what being British is all about. He is a working class lad who made the big time in the 1960s only to be mocked, imitated and never quite accepted. Yet he’s won all his battles to become Britain’s biggest and most famous star. At the age of 82, he has never been more in fashion. The actor has been back on screen in 2014’s blockbuster space odyssey Interstellar and this year’s spy drama Kingsman: The Secret Service and is more in demand than ever with three more ÂżOPV OLQHG XS IRU UHOHDVH WDNLQJ KLV tally up to 126 movies). It’s pretty good going for a career which began when living in a council prefab and taking labourer’s jobs to make ends meet. It has brought him a knighthood, won him two Oscars and earned him a personal fortune. It is half a century since he became famous after years of struggle with the movie Zulu. And just like his character of Lieutenant %URPKHDG LQ WKDW ÂżOP KH KDV EHHQ ÂżJKWLQJ DJDLQVW WKH RGGV HYHU VLQFH So what has he learned in 50 years of stardom? “Never to give anyone advice,â€? he says. “I have had plenty in the past. It was always ‘give up’. Free advice is usually worth nothing. 7KHUH XVHG WR EH VR PDQ\ SRVK ÂżOP FULWLFV UHDG\ WR VHH PH IDOO Ă€DW RQ P\ a***. But I am still here. The reason for survival? I never take anything for granted.â€? At more than six feet tall Caine still cuts a powerful and robust ÂżJXUH +HÂśV EOHVVHG ZLWK KDUGQRVHG SUDJPDWLVP DQG LV ÂżHUFHO\ SURXG RI his South London working class background. “I cannot get carried away by anything after all these years,â€? he says. “There is no doubt that there is a big young following out there ZKR NQRZ DOO P\ ÂżOPV EHWWHU WKDQ I do. They gave me the kiss of life a few years ago. A rebirth, if you like. I have done a lot of movies, always tried to learn and have tried never WR EH Ă€DVK 6R DP , HQMR\LQJ DOO WKH

attention now? Yeah, I am.â€? Part of his resurgence is down to British director Christopher Nolan, who at 44 was not even born when Caine established himself in 1960s’ FODVVLFV VXFK DV $OÂżH 7KH ,WDOLDQ Job and as spy Harry Palmer in The Ipcress File and Funeral In Berlin. He made Caine an unlikely choice as butler Alfred Pennyworth in his ÂżOP %DWPDQ %HJLQV DQG KDV hired him for two more Batman ÂżOPV SOXV KLWV 7KH 3UHVWLJH DQG Inception. Nolan insisted on Caine’s casting in Interstellar alongside stars Matthew McConaughey and $QQH +DWKDZD\ ,Q WKH ÂżOP KH SOD\V Professor Brand who masterminds a mission to the far side of the universe. Âł(YHU\RQH FRQQHFWHG ZLWK WKH ÂżOP seemed to be young enough to be my children or grandchildren,â€? Caine says. “But that’s what helps keep me young and interested.â€? He also gives an interesting insight into how he works after all these years. “I was brought up

‘He is a working class lad who made the big time in the 1960s only to be mocked and imitated’ on the Stanislavsky Method,â€? he says. “I know it is now linked to the late Marlon Brando and a lot of mumbling but the principle is that the rehearsal is the work and the performance is the relaxation. “So all the rehearsals go on in my own mind at home. I sit there for hour upon hour, talking to myself in different ways, or go in to a room and do a walk or a gesture. “I never look in a mirror. I always do it alone. If I did all this in front of anyone else they would think I am insane. So I try to get the movement right and think my way in to a character. Âł, ÂżQDOO\ JHW WR WKH ÂżOP VWXGLR DQG everyone says, ‘Oh, he’s so relaxed’. But I have screwed myself into the

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ground for weeks and months with all the preparation. “That is the key to it all for me, because in my experience most actors are not big-heads thinking how wonderful they are. Most of us are sitting in the dressing room, shaking with fear, thinking: ‘I can’t do this.’ The preparation and knowing the script and the character is the key. Get that right and you worry less. That’s where the enjoyment comes in.â€? %XW &DLQHÂśV HDUO\ ÂżOPV HLWKHU Ă€RSSHG RU KLV UROH ZDV VR VPDOO LW remained uncredited. He didn’t fare much better in the theatre. “The longest show I did on stage was for six months, touring The Long, The Short And The Tall,â€? he says dryly. “I started off as Peter O’Toole’s understudy and when he went off to

‘Most actors are sitting in the dressing room, shaking with fear, thinking: ‘I can’t do this’’ play Lawrence Of Arabia I took the play on tour. I thought I would go mad. I was 30, still struggling and going nowhere.â€? It was another play, Next Time I’ll Sing For You by James Saunders, which caught the imagination of reviewers and his peers. “The great actor Stanley Baker, who tragically died in his late 40s, saw it and recommended me for Zulu,â€? he says. “From that moment onwards life changed. I was suddenly in another world, working with stars I knew only as a fan.â€? However he can recall only two people who have reduced his natural raconteur style to total silence. The ÂżUVW ZDV )UDQN 6LQDWUD 7KH VHFRQG Calista Flockhart - now third wife of Harrison Ford. “With Sinatra, we were travelling in a private jet across America in the 1970s after the success of Get Carter. I suddenly realised who I was with and shut up. - 67 -

“He asked me what was wrong. I said: ‘It is unbelievable for me to be sitting here with you.’ He said: Âľ:KHQ , ÂżUVW FDPH WR +ROO\ZRRG in 1938 I found myself with my hero Ronald Colman and just lost my voice altogether.’ With Calista I was a big fan of her TV show Ally McBeal. We were at the Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles and she suddenly waved. I looked behind my chair, wondering if it was for somebody else. “So there’s me acting like Joe Soap because I always feel such an idiot if I wave back and it’s not me they are waving at. I came over all shy. I swear I even blushed.â€? Caine celebrated his 42nd wedding anniversary to second wife Shakira, 68, in January and appreciates family life. He does not mince his words ZKHQ UHĂ€HFWLQJ RQ KRZ VRFLHW\ KDV changed. “Despite being poor, I had a happy home life and an education,â€? he says. “The biggest change in my lifetime regarding behaviour has been drugs. This is the cause of 75 to 80 per cent of all the problems we have with young people. In my day it was booze. You’d get drunk and KDYH D ÂżJKW %XW ZLWK ERR]H \RX GLG not have to kill anyone to get it. With drugs there’s theft, muggings and robbery to feed the habit.â€? He adds: “There is also an absence of family life. It broke down and WKH ODFN RI D IDWKHU RU IDWKHU ÂżJXUH is very important. I had a dad who was at home. I was rich in family support, rich in laughter and rich in love. These are all the things that money can’t buy. It’s a clichĂŠ but how many people do you meet ZKR DUH ULFK ÂżQDQFLDOO\ EXW KDYH not got all the others? Looking back the England I grew up in during the 1950s was in black and white. It was drab. Then the 1960s came along and it was suddenly in Technicolor. 7KH PXVLF WKH DUW WKH ÂżOPV OLW XS everything.â€? Michael Caine, it seems, is still thoroughly enjoying lighting up the way for new audiences, and actors, to enjoy.

MOTORING

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GOING GOING GONE

Sotheby’s sale of vintage cars at Villa Erba, by Lake Como in Italy, is an opportunity to invest in a piece of history

O

ne hour north of Milan, in the home of the supercar, RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba sale is held every two years. Of course, the backdrop is utterly exquisite but what elevates even Lake Como to new heights of aesthetic glory this May will be the handpicked sale of some of the most glamorous vehicles ever made. The public preview of the auction (2013’s sale realised over €27m across 40 lots) will be held on Friday, May 22 from 10am, while the bidding itself will begin the following evening at 5pm. As you would expect in the heart of Italy, Ferrari will be well represented, including an example of the increasingly rare Enzo from 2002, an early example of Ferrari’s turbocharged future in the 1985 288 GTO, as well as the impossibly romantic 1960 250 GT SWB Berlinetta Competizione, and a 1961 SWB California Spider, which aims to be the pick of the auction. As well as these, motorboats like the 1975 Riva Aquarama Special “Shaheen” will be going under the hammer – perfect for an afternoon tooling around Como for the winning bidder. RM Sotheby’s Villa Erba auction takes place on Saturday, May 23 at Villa Erba, Largo Luchino Visconti, 4 22012, Cernobbio, Italy

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MOTORING

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FLAT TRACK Words: RICHARD JENKINS

BULLY The new Mercedes-AMG GT S is equally at home on the streets or the circuit, and gunning for the 911’s crown

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MOTORING

F

irst, the bad news: the gullwing doors are gone. Take a moment to mourn the loss of one of the SLS’s most iconic features, and then move on. Because really, EH\RQG WKH VXSHU¿FLDO ¹ DQG DGPLWWHGO\ QHYHU HQGLQJ ¹ WKULOO RI WKH GRRUV lifting up and out from the roof, the gullwings were never long for this world. They added weight, and made actually getting in and out of the thing an ordeal. No, in the real world, real doors are best. That’s just one of the many lessons AMG has poured into the 2016 $0* *7 6 ZKLFK LV VXSHU¿FLDOO\ EDVHG RQ last year’s SLS but is an entirely new animal. Mercedes-Benz has expanded its product line in such wildly divergent directions in recent years (compare this to the Mercedes-Maybach Pullman 600, for example), and the GT S is a giant leap back towards building cars by racers, for racers.

The headline changes are the aforementioned weight loss and a new, 503 horsepower, 4.0 litre twin-turbo V8 engine that will propel giddy drivers to 60mph in 3.7 seconds, and keep going to 193mph. Those of an aesthetic bent will melt at the sight of what’s hiding that powerhouse of an engine ¹ D VZRRSLQJ HORQJDWHG FXUYH RI ERQQHW ZLWK ridges and vents stretching tantalisingly into the distance away from the driver. The GT S’s exterior is as close as AMG have got to sports car perfection, the snub rear and playful spoiler providing the perfect kiss-off to anybody left behind, while that yawning grille will put terror into the heart of anyone who glimpses it in their rear-view mirror. The body is almost completely aluminium, another reason this is one of the lightest GTs on the market at 1,570kg, some 100kg less than the rival Jaguar F-Type R or the mixed-metal 4WD Porsche Turbo. - 72 -

$,5ÂśV ÂżUVW HQFRXQWHU ZLWK $0*ÂśV QHZ Ă€DJVKLS VSRUWV PRGHO FDPH DW <DV 0DULQD circuit in Abu Dhabi, where a handful of regional journalists had been invited to put the car through its paces, alongside the rest of the current AMG models. It was a shrewd move on the part of Aufrecht, Melcher and GroĂ&#x;aspach, as the GT S stands head and shoulders above its stablemates when it comes to track performance, with even the most amateur of drivers able to (with the help of generous ESP) corner, drift and hit astonishingly high speeds on the circuit’s long and tempting straights. The hallmark of this engine is feel. Every push of the accelerator, every twitch of the wheel, every glance in the mirror represents

comfort mode the engine is subdued, the bark of the V8 muzzled to make leaving your apartment complex early in the morning as discreet as possible. Of course, this probably has as much to do with the turbocharged HQJLQH DV DQ\WKLQJ HOVH ¹ WKLV LV DIWHU all. The GT S is wide at 76.3 inches, but still small enough for city manoeuvring without undue hassle. Inside, the cockpit is impeccably trimmed. Mercedes’ class-leading centre console is present and updated with a sizeable touch screen, and its racing seats are snug and sporty. For automatic transmissions, WKH JHDU VHOHFWRU LV SODFHG ¹ VOLJKWO\ RGGO\ ¹ UHDUZDUGV RQ WKH FHQWUH FRQVROH necessitating a bit of elbow bending to pick

‘A swooping, elongated curve of bonnet with ridges and vents stretching tantalisingly away from the driver’ a perfect harmony between the car and its driver. Steering is tactile, responsive and LQWXLWLYH Âą DQG LW ZRXOG KDYH WR EH JLYHQ WKDW the GT S accelerates at such a phenomenal pace. But it doesn’t throw you back in the way that a McLaren or a Corvette Stingray might; the velocity is attained with precision and care, gently ramping up, and up and up, until it’s time to corner again. Away from the track, the GT S also ticks the right boxes for daily use. It draws admiring glances everywhere it goes, and the special honey-yellow metallic paintwork seems to attract eyeballs like, well, honey to a bee. In - 73 -

a gear. Of course, this leaves space in the foreground to add a couple of cup holders, so it’s a change born of necessity. Views from the windscreen are wide and beautiful thanks to that bonnet, and AMG were at pains to SRLQW RXW WKDW DOO VRUWV RI ¿GGO\ NQREV GLDOV and switches that would be used to control the stereo system and sat-nav have been dispensed with, leaving all the inputs up to the touchscreen. This is another nod to the racing heritage AMG are playing up to with the GT 6 ¹ WKH\œUH VD\LQJ <RXœYH JRW D VWHHULQJ ZKHHO a gearstick and some pedals. Now get out there and use them.

GASTRONOMY

Gantry Point He’s cooked for the Queen of England and been appointed private chef to the Beckhams. Chris Irving’s curriculum YLWDH LV DV ÀDYRXUVRPH DV KLV IRRG $V WKH &DQDGLDQ ERUQ chef opens his new restaurant in Sydney, Tracey Scott packs up her palate and heads 'RZQ 8QGHU WR ¿QG RXW DQG sample) more

H

e doesn’t think much of cocky chefs. Nor does he like to compromise on his cooking. He isn’t fussed about food reviews and he never lets critics stand in the way of good grub. He is, however, passionate about quality produce. Perhaps it is the latter point that makes Chris Irving’s latest SRVWLQJ VR ÂżWWLQJ Serving 100 per cent Australian produce from his new kitchen in The Gantry Restaurant & Bar, Pier One Sydney Harbour’s Ă€DJVKLS HDWHU\ &DQDGLDQ ERUQ ,UYLQJ LV RQ D mission. “I didn’t come here to compete,â€? says WKH H[HFXWLYH FKHI YHU\ PDWWHU RI IDFW D WUDLW he probably picked up from former mentor, Gordon Ramsay). “I know that the Sydney market is quite hardcore but I’m not worried about competition. If I let that be the catalyst that drives my food it would be all over the place. I have a direction, a focus, and I’m not going to let anything sway me from that.â€? +LV IRFXV" /RFDOLW\ Âł,WÂśV DOPRVW WKH ÂżUVW thing that people talk about when coming to Australia, ‘oh the produce is so amazing’. - 74 -

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GASTRONOMY So why not build on that? Why not let that be the shining factor for the restaurant? If I’m going to exclusively say the restaurant is serving Australian products then why not go that extra mile to ensure it? We’re not using anything that is out of the country. It is 100 per cent Australian.� “A true celebration of local, regional Australian products,� he adds. And what a celebration it is. Napkin down, knife and fork ready. Freshly shucked oysters from local waters and Hervey Bay scallops land on my table swiftly followed by spanner crab and Balmain bugs. A slow-cooked lamb shoulder arrives at the table opposite while hero desserts test belt buckles beside me. This was an Australian feast well and truly. “Everything on the menu has a reason, a story behind it,� says Irving. “From freshly picked bundles of herbs from Cooks Co-op or a whole stuffed Tasmanian Petuna

Vancouver Island – the furthest west point in Canada. That was where I JRW P\ ÂżUVW WDVWH RI ÂżQH GLQLQJ Âą DW 7KH :LFNDQLQQLVK ,QQ LQ 7RÂżQR ´ From there, he enrolled at Dubrulle International Culinary Arts where he met awardingwinning chef David Hawksworth. Eager to head back into the kitchen, the budding chef expressed an interest in moving to France – for he was studying French cooking. But after Hawksworth questioned his reasons for heading to France, Irving changed tack. “David was a sous chef for Raymond Blanc in England so he turned me around and said, ‘if you want to learn how to cook, forget France and go to London’.â€? Armed with a one-way ticket, the Canadian went to the Big Smoke; straight to the back door of Gordon Ramsay’s Michelin-starred PĂŠtrus and asked for a job. Literally. “They VHQW PH WR WKH KHDG RIÂżFH WKDW GD\ for an interview and I was working

‘We want to ensure every guest that walks through our doors leaves with an appreciation of where the food comes from and the people who produce it’ Ocean trout evoking memories of my GD\V ÂżVKLQJ ZLWK P\ GDG LQ &DQDGD the farmers are so proud of their produce. We want to ensure every guest that walks through our doors leaves with an appreciation of where the food comes from and the people ZKR SURGXFH LW 7R PH WKLV GHÂżQHV an undisputed quality that easily makes it best in class.â€? The maritime past of the location adds to the culinary experience further – the hotel occupies an over-the-water plot at the end of the 103-year-old Pier One. On the subject of the past enhancing the present, how does that sit with the executive chef’s personal journey? Irving went from learning the URSHV LQ D SXE WR GDEEOLQJ LQ ÂżQH GLQLQJ LQ 7RÂżQR Âł, KDG D ELW RI a crush on this girl, also I quite enjoyed the idea as it was on

the next morning. That was it. I was there for two years.� It was here that Irving cooked for the Queen of England (“We did custard tarts�), nearly burnt out (“There was a lot of times when I wanted to leave and quit – as I said, there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears�), and made his tentative connection to the Beckhams (more on which in a moment). After two years in London, Irving’s visa expired and he returned to Canada. With a bang. “I opened my own restaurant [Pourhouse] with some friends and partners in Vancouver and it was an amazing experience. After a while I hit the ceiling. I wasn’t progressing so it was time for me to move on.� From the land to the sea he went, joining the kitchen on board a superyacht in the south of France. - 76 -

Irving then decided to drop his anchor in the kitchen of one of the world’s most famous couples: The Beckhams. “When I was working with Gordon [Ramsay] part of my job was support and development. :KHQ *RUGRQ ZDV ¿OPLQJ LQ /RQGRQ I would often get pulled out to help him and from that we got a personal rapport. His family is friends with the Beckhams. The Beckhams needed a chef so Gordon happily said you can have Chris. So I did that for 18 months.” From the Queen of England to the Beckhams, how do the taste buds differ? “When people have private chefs they like to have the option to do elaborate meals. But when they’re having chefs in their own home they - 77 -

don’t want anything too extravagant every day. For the Beckhams, they eat what every normal family would eat. They didn’t have me because they wanted foie gras and caviar. They physically didn’t have the time to prepare meals for themselves.” To people who question Victoria’s eating habits, Irving takes a moment to set the record straight. “She eats a lot. People say ‘skinny and healthy’. No, no, no, completely the opposite. She’s incredibly in shape, exercises every day, full of energy, full of life, and yes, of course, when you are a busy professional woman like she is, you have to be on top of your game.” And top of his game Irving is. You only need a spoonful of his food to know that.

TRAVEL

HIRE AND HIRE

When looking for a holiday destination, privacy is key – so why not take over an entire venue?

F

ound in the rolling emerald backdrop of County Mayo in Ireland, Ashford Castle has just reopened following a series of extensive renovations. The property dates back as far as 1228, but the amenities are ultramodern, making it the perfect base for exploring Ireland – not that you’d have any reason to leave the grounds. The castle stands in 350 acres of ancient woodland, packed with period features and places to explore. It’s possible to hire the entire castle for private functions and holidays, and enjoy the 82 rooms with as many friends and family as you like. It’s even got a neat link to the Middle East – Ashford &DVWOH LV KRPH WR ,UHODQG¶V ¿UVW school of falconry. - 78 -

Castles aren’t for everyone. These holiday destinations can also be leased wholesale Calivigny Island, Caribbean Spread over 80 lush acres with two sandy beaches, Calivigny boasts five luxury villas, a fleet of boats, and a squadron of private chefs. It sleeps up to 50 people, at a cost of USD140, 000 per night. Wolwedan Dune Camp, Namibia Make like Brad and Angelina, who rented this luxurious safari spot with their children. It’s got six tented rooms and a dedicated chef, and all the creature comforts (and creatures) you need. Borgo Finocchieto, Tuscany For USD147, 312 per week, the manor house of this medieval village in Italy that dates back to the 14th century can be rented. It has nine suites and 22 bedrooms, and is packed with tech on the inside.

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LIFE LESSONS

WHAT I KNOW NOW

My hero growing up was Andre Agassi. I loved the way he played, and his sense of style. Looking back at it now the tight shorts and the ponytail aren’t quite so good, but at the time I thought he looked great.

Andy Murray Tennis Player

I have received too many great pieces of advice to pick just one. I’ve been lucky enough to speak in person to people like Sir Alex Ferguson and Sir Chris Hoy. I try and get as much insight as I can and put that to good use. The hardest thing about my job is being away from friends and family. Obviously losing matches is hard, but we accept that as part of the job. Being away from your family is the UHDO VDFUL¿FH ZH PDNH to play on the tour. It’s hard to pick a single ELJJHVW LQÀXHQFH RQ P\ career. There have been plenty of people who’ve helped me, some are famous, some are not. I’d actually say my EURWKHU ZDV DV ELJ DQ LQÀXHQFH DV any because when we were little he beat me all the time. That gave me the drive to succeed; I didn’t want to be beaten all the time! To me, style is being comfortable in your own skin, in what you wear and how you carry yourself. I guess I’m an understated type of person and that shows in what I wear. I love my RADO watch: beautifully made and understated, it’s stylish. In ten years, I hope to have my health, and some time off. If I could give advice to my ten-year-old self I’d say to keep enjoying it. Being able to play sport for a living is as good as it’s going to get. The best thing about my life is doing something I love and being paid for it. I just love to compete. I’d PDNH D WHUULEOH RI¿FH colleague.

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