Kongo Republic
Richard Mille created a contemporary masterpiece with renowned graffiti artist Cyril ‘Kongo’ Phan, writes Lily Ong
Richard mille has had a strong track record of collaborating with luminaries from different fields. Plus, the brand has proven that the fundamentals of their partnerships with talented individuals go beyond the usual sponsorship-for-events formula. With its collaboration with graffiti street artist Kongo, Richard Mille takes it to the next level. These two forces have come together to work on a tagged Tourbillon, the RM 68-01. This teamwork has proven to be successful and at the same time one of a kind, as it challenged both parties to push the boundaries of what they know and have mastered in their respective crafts. Kongo emphasised that his work has always been about celebrating graffiti as an artistic platform, which is precious and rare. He has even come to identify himself as a painter as well, thanks to the increase of studio artworks that he produced during the course of his artistic career. “I wanted to translate what I have learnt over the years on the streets painting graffiti to the canvas,” he says. That being said, Kongo does occasionally return to the streets that have given him the courage and inspiration to become the artist he is today, for graffiti work. Widening his scale of work, Kongo has participated in various luxury brand projects. In terms of process, Richard Mille is his most challenging collaboration to date. But this doesn’t faze him. “As artists, we take action, we crystallise an instant in time. We craft a message that bears witness to what’s going on at that precise moment,” elaborates Kongo on what drew him to the project of working with a watchmaker.
“It took a year for me to be capable of painting on a five-centimetre square watch”
The project with Richard Mille was an exciting one for Kongo as it enabled him to achieve his goal of bringing art to a new ‘canvas.’ The goal was to take the energy and spirit of Kongo’s work and showcase it using an existing calibre—in this case, the RM 68-01 tourbillon—without affecting the watch’s functionality. It may sound simple in concept