The Neon Life
Electrifying and intense, neon colors inject excitement and energy into our life. In line with a revival of 1980s design styles, artificial‑inspired neons are used by creatives to attract the viewer’s attention.
In the „Neon Life“ we take you through a time funnel and show cultural heritage of Switzerland in a „new“ and cross‑cultural context.
Preface
Neon, derived from the Greek word, νέος (neos),
means „new“. We use this word to describe something that has been created recently or did just start to exist.
We are constantly reinventing our world. The relation though, is bidirectional. We create the new life, but it also creates us.In the Neon Life, we want to explore this duality further.
We thank all of our contributors and we hope you enjoy this exploration.
New Zurich
A new, global Switzerland made up of diverse cultures is shaping the cityscape of Zurich. If you walk through the city, you hear voices interacting in diverse languages.
This diversity let the city flourishing. Textiles are no longer produced, but increasingly digital goods.
Technology follows an exponential logic. The resulting disruption leads to a redistribution of value. The same pattern was observed in the watch industry during the quartz crisis in the 70‘s.
Time‑travelling through a funnel
Time exists only in our perception. There is no start and no end. Just like the universe, or the constant Pi. π has an infinite number of decimal places that do not show a repeating pattern. It is chaotic.
When we use Pi, we force it to be constant. So we use an approximation of it. For example, when we create the most symmetric shape ‑ the circle.
In the new extension of Zurich Airport, we pass through the time funnel at „The Circle“ and bring forgotten pieces of Swiss timekeeping back to the present.
Merging the past and the future
Technology becomes obsolete, craft does not. That's why we appreciate certain things that are not in the constant need of being reinvented. Like the watches we curate on zrhbrg.
These watches were made to last for generations. We are on a mission to make this generation transfer happening.
Time is moving
In physics, the kinetic energy of an object is the energy that it possesses due to its motion.
An automatic watch uses the everyday motion of the wearer to operate the movement. This energy is then stored in a capacitor that discharges slowly over time.
Keep moving and your watch emits and balances your energy.
Converging
Just after the big bang, the Higgs field was zero, but as the universe cooled and the temperature fell below a critical value, the field grew spontaneously so that any particle interacting with it acquired a mass. 
The campaign Neon Life was created also through spontaneous interaction.
The Neon Life
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Videography and Photography:
Valentin Thalmann
Movements:
Ming Chen, Carlos Mbingo, Jonas Kastenhuber, Manuel Häberli, Mia Lyuba Sagué Doimeadios, Amy Schwab, Sophie Ledermann
Particle Motion:
Xaver Wenzinger (nachlicht.cc)
Neon Beam:
Ennio Limbach Brun del Ré
Neon watch frame:
Mia Lyuba Sagué Doimeadios
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