Independents & Modern Watches: Live Auction

Many of the themes that inspire Konstantin Chaykin as artist are closely connected to the timepieces he creates, and in the artwork A Mad Horological Party this connection is particularly evident: the concept emerged as a metaphor for developing the ultra-complicated White Rabbit watch, named after the character from Lewis Carroll’s fairy-tale Alice in Wonderland. Chaykin refers to Chapter Seven both in the artwork title and in the complications he created for the watch. He invented the “Mad Tea Party Time” function, inspired by the Hatter’s confession that Time had stopped him at six o’clock, as well as the paradoxical idea of a watch that displays the date or year without indicating the current time.

In the artwork, the artist portrays himself assembling the White Rabbit watch, surrounded by imagined characters from Chapter Seven. This imaginative world was further explored in the cycle of works — March Har.1, Sedmitsa, Ahasuerus, and Dormouse, where each stands as an independent piece of art. Subjects of this kind are rare, as artists usually create self-portraits or hidden self-portraits, like Raphael, Botticelli, or Caravaggio. Chaykin, however, prefers the allegorical self-portrait, placing himself in a realistic setting while surrounding his figure with mechanical creatures born of his own imagination. In this sense, his approach recalls the self-portraits of Marc Chagall, enriched with fantastical imagery. Chaykin’s uniqueness lies in creating his own artistic universe, where he is depicted realistically at his workbench, while Alice, the March Har. 1, the Dormouse, and the Hatter appear as the movements came alive. This phantasmagorical play of imagination makes the artwork especially resonant with the fairytale spirit of Alice in Wonderland.