Urma
(meaning trace in
Romanian) Clock
is part of THISorder, a series of objects that embody entropy
through materialized time-based installations.
Thie project was developed by Catrinel Sabaciag, as part of her Product
Design Bachelor project at The University of Edinburgh.
In
an age in which time is measured more accurately than ever before and
often seems to be a barometer of productivity and money, it feels
like we are overlooking its essentially organic quality.
My
intent is to question
universalized and productivity-oriented time-perception through
alternative clocks.
They visualize
the passage of time in a more organic manner, as a continuous change
of phase. As time passes by, Urma
displays the traces of the past, almost like a ghost, thus the
fragile boundaries and relationship between the present, future and
past are brought into focus.
Urma
questions perception by depicting a more empathic and
natural time. The viewer can leave his mark on the clock buy touching
it, thus offering him a sense of significance in our seemingly
“losing game”: time.
The
narrative of time acceleration causes burn-out syndrome and a severe
desynchronization with our circadian rhythms.
By
deferring cognitive processes clocks, we run the risk of diminishing
our ability to think about time, and we also run the risk of using
the objects as a materialization of some universal time sense.
Thus,
I feel like there is an urgent need to detach clocks from
this perception and design alternative clocks.
Urma
Clock is a timekeeper inspired by the natural and
integrated passage of time
Most
clocks display time as a single dot on a grid, however, my aim was to
design a timekeeper that depicts time as a continuum. This
alternative, integrated way of telling time is found in several
natural phenomena such as moon phases, and timepieces such as
sundials.
A
second version of the timekeeper will be coming in 2020/2021.
THE
MAKING PROCESS
Since
entropy, the overarching theme of the collection, is influenced by
heat, I decided to start my material exploration using heat changing
effects. I developed a special composite, which mimics rock such as
granite and Lapis Lazuli.
I
choose to work mostly monochrome. The transition from black to white
has a natural aesthetic and relates best to organic ways of telling
time such as light and shadow (sundial) and the overarching theme of
entropy.
Technology
is used as a hidden scaffolding for an analog and organic process to
unfold. In contrast with the clock’s internal mechanism, driven by
an Arduino, the exterior resembles a mineral
The
design methodology used to create these objects reflects the
dichotomy between order and chaos, central to my project. A symbiosis
of great accuracy (in terms of prototyping, especially gears and
coding) and improvisation, dictated by material limitations and the
behaviour has been vital.