Wristwatches were once a necessity, but now they’re entering the realm of novelty – more often than not, when you ask someone for the time they check their smartphone instead. In her installation Is six afraid of seven/ ’cause seven, eight, nine!, artist Heidi Voet weaves over four thousand wristwatches into a time-telling carpet that chimes in synchronicity. Over the course of the exhibition, individual watches will deviate, sounding off at the wrong moment to create a cacophony instead of a symphony.
While the carpet of time may look like a beautiful, ordered creation, the seeds of chaos lie within. Each of the thousands of brightly colored digital watches are programmed for precision, but they will inevitably malfunction and chime at odd times. The watches (and the very concept of time) are human inventions striving to make sense and quantify the universe. Like the rug, they seek to comfort and ornament our world, giving us a false sense of security and structure. Beginning as a well-tuned machine, the installation descends into entropy, reflecting the ultimate outcome of most human endeavors.
To see more of Voet’s work, weave your way over to the artist’s website.
Via Make
