Anri Sala
Clocked Perspective, 2012
Anri Sala (1974)
Clocked Perspective, 2012
Painted aluminium and plastic clock case reinforced with fibreglass, metal clockwork, steel pillar
Clock: 400 x 280 x 30 cm Dimensions when installed: 660 x 280 x 30 cm
Clocked Perspective is presented as a sculptural solution to the impossible perspective of G. Ulbricht’s painting. Sala’s clock is an elongated ellipse; its hands accurately mark the hours and minutes, but they adapt over time to the clock’s warped shape. The mechanism is designed to compensate for the unusual form and unequal intervals between numbers. The gears are diamond-shaped, and therefore the clock hands do not always progress at the same speed, instead moving faster or slower depending on the time of day and the position of the hands. Up until now the clock has always been displayed in parks and could only be viewed from one level. The plaza of Museo Jumex is raised and surrounded by buildings, and in this context the perspective of the clock changes; the deformation may or may not be perceptible, and spectators may even detect new deformations depending on the position from which they observe the clock—from below, at the level of the plaza or from above.