My obsessions with time

I have always found the concept of time most fascinating, the way it measures civilizations, a child’s frailty, an elder’s wisdom, the freshness of food, the maturity of fine wine. How it defines our lives in precise increments of years, months, days, hours, minutes... The way it accelerates or slows down, depending on whether or not we are enjoying it. How there is never enough, and how it inexorably runs out.

Its interpretation varies among people and cultures, or changes with age and experience. There is no way one can design a single clock to suit all people, all lifestyles, all interpretations of time; the possibilities are simply infinite.

Some people think time is made of precise increments. Seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years... they all represent perfectly measurable units of time. These people are precise, meticulous, reliable: they are always at work exactly at nine o’clock, they never forget an anniversary, they never miss a train... Yet even these people cannot deny that every single moment is unique in itself.

Unit desk clock

These personable desk clocks are made of identical, perfectly measurable cubes. Yet, just as every moment is in itself unique, each of the Unit clocks is different from the next in color and height.

Materials: 3D printed ABS body, wood legs.
Dimensions: body 6.35 x 6.35 x 6.35 cm (2.5 x 2.5 x 2.5 inches), height 12 - 22 cm (4.7 - 8.7 inches)

For some people, time can be bent, stretched, or twisted, to their will. To them twelve o’clock may mean twelve-fifteen, or sometimes twelve-thirty; tomorrow may mean next week, and next week may mean never. These people are always late for an appointment, are not fazed by deadlines, and always lie about their age; to these people, time can be adjusted as they please.

Scheduling clock

The separate magnetic dial and time markers of this clock can be attached to a white board, refrigerator door, or steel door. They can hold memos postcards and reminders, and can be moved or rearranged at will.

Materials: 3D printed ABS clock case, readymade memo magnets.
Dimensions: Clock case ø11 x 2 cm (ø4.3 x 0.8 Inches), each memo magnet ø3 x 1 cm (ø1.2 x 0.4 Inches)

Some people live according to their own body time. They are not concerned with days, unaware of hours and minutes. They eat when they are hungry, they sleep when they are tired, they make love in the middle of the day, they work only when they need money, they celebrate every day. These people have no use for conventional clocks to mark their time.

Self clock

A mirrored surface that reflects viewer and environment, no minute-hand, no time markers. A single hour-hand moving in space only gives a vague indication of time, while a second-hand inexorably moves forward, as a reminder that every vanishing moment is precious. Whether standing on a mantel or hanging on a wall, this clock is unimportant, only the viewer matters.

Materials: Mirrored acrylic, wood.
Dimensions: 30 x 15 x 3 cm (12 x 6 x 1.2 Inches)

Many people think of hardship and adversities as “hard time”. Hard time is illness, recession, divorce, even prison; hard time is tough, cold and abrasive. Conversely, these people feel that the really enjoyable time: a new romance, an extended holiday, a promotion, a dinner with friends... is warm, cuddly and cozy... soft time.

Plush clock

A soft, warm and cozy wool blanket, held on the wall by twelve pushpins, which also mark the hours.

Materials: wool felt, metal push-pins.
Dimensions: 46 x 46 x 3 cm (18 x 18 x 1.2 Inches)

Time There are people who insist time cannot be measured. They cannot understand how enjoyable moments: a vacation, an arcade ride, holding hands for the first time... can go by so quickly; while unpleasant time seems never-ending. To these people time is a fuzzy notion, without clear dimensions, and without an exact unit of measure.

Fuzzy clock

A vanity clock that can lay on a flat surface, or be mounted on a mirror and other smooth surfaces with self-adhesive velcro® pads. Wrapped in soft, fuzzy, marabou feathers, its body is invisible to us and can only be identified by touch, its actual dimensions are impossible to measure.

Materials: 3D printed ABS body, marabou feathers, self-adhesive velcro pads.
Dimensions: ~ø15 x 5 cm (~ø6 x 2 Inches) on a good hair day.

To some people time is made of memories: The first kiss, the day they quit their job, the trip to Vienna, their first born child... These people cannot imagine the future, as they only live in the past. They do anxiously wait for events to happen in the future, but only so they can record them, and turn them into cherished memories.

Frame clock

A framed clock surrounded by twelve photo frames. As every moment and memory is unique, each frame is different from the next, and so is every assembly.

Materials: 3D printed ABS clock case, unfinished. Twelve reclaimed picture frames.
Approximate dimensions: 62 x 72 x 3 cm (24.4 x 28.3 x 1.2 Inches)

Some people believe time is sacred. They believe that divine forces have complete control over time, that they can compress or stretch time, or make it twist on itself; that they can make life short and painful, or grant eternal bliss. These people spend their lives in prayer, as to them, even a faint hope of eternal life is far more important than living in the certainty of the present.

Holy clock

Holy clock is a crucifix fitting a clock at its intersection. Four times a day, at about 2:48 AM/PM and 9:13 AM/PM, the location of the clock’s hands aligns with the position of the arms of Christ on the cross.

Materials: 3D printed ABS clock case, wood.
Dimensions: 79 x 54 x 3 cm (31 x 21.3 x 1.2 Inches)

Some people believe time is money. They always hurry, rarely have time for their loved ones, interrupt others to finish their sentences… because to this people every moment waisted is money lost. Some of them have concluded that the opposite is also true: that money is time. These people obsess over the cost of things, constantly seeking the fastest and and cheapest solution, seemingly unaware of the value of quality.

Supercheap clock

Stripped-down to its very essence and directly pasted onto the wall, this minimalist wall clock is made from a movement, hands, and twelve strips of adhesive tape; which makes it arguably the cheapest clock ever produced.

Materials: adhesive tape.
Dimension:  36 x 36 x 3.5 cm (14 x 14 x 1.25 inches)

Some people imagine time as being three-dimensional, a vast monolith, dense with events, history, experiences. They imagine each year, each month, each week, as solid blocks, smaller measurable sections of the monolith, and they imagine each day as a slice of time, in which each new hour is a void, ready to be filled with new stories, events, memories…

Slice clock

3D-printed in biodegradable PLA, this clock is a twelve-hour slice of time, with all of its holes in the right places.

Materials: wood.
Dimension:  20 x 14.7 x 2.5 cm (7.9 x 5.8 x 1 inches)

There are people who believe time is like a thick fog, that it blurs everything. The farther they look back in time, the more their memories get dim, the details become uncertain, the colors fade. Similarly, the farther they gaze into the future, the more their dreams seem unclear, hard to visualize. Was their niece’s wedding in the Spring? Or was it in the Fall? Will their daughter graduate from college? Will they be there to see it?

Haze clock

A simple soft-edged white case, soft-focused graphics behind frosted glass. Nothing about it is sharp, clear, in focus. Is it a clock? Or just its distant memory?

Materials: aluminum, glass
Dimension:  32 x 32 x 4 cm (12.6 x 12.6 x 1.6 inches)