The Revolutionary Clock: A Symbol of Change
At first glance, the clock appears to be ordinary: familiar divisions by hours and two hands . However, this is not your typical timepiece. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice the dial is divided into ten spaces instead of the traditional twelve. What in the name of Lewis Carroll is this? This thought-provoking creation is the work of Scottish artist Ruth Ewan , part of her series titled *We Could Have Been Anything That We Wanted To Be*, originally unveiled at Folkestone Artworks in 2011.
Ruth Evans, provoking. Ewan, known for infusing social messages into her art, revisited some of her prior works—clocks featured in a previous contest nearly fifteen years ago—to bring a fresh perspective to her installation. The project is part of a triennial that showcases urban artworks , featuring an impressive 91 pieces by 52 artists in its latest edition.
Understanding the Design: A New Way to Tell Time
How they work. The unconventional arrangement of the numbers on Ewan’s clocks is not merely artistic flair; it’s rooted in a functional design that divides each day into ten hours . Each hour consists of one hundred minutes , with each minute further split into one hundred seconds . In this system, midnight falls at ten and noon occurs at five . In contrast, our conventional understanding dictates that a day consists of 24 hours, with 60 minutes and seconds within each hour and minute, respectively. Ewan’s clocks challenge us to think differently about time and reflect on its various interpretations.
<img alt="Some OT contestants did not know how to read clock hands." width="375" height="142" src="https://i.blogs.es/151c53/ot-y-los-relojes/375_142.jpeg"/>Historical Context: The Birth of Decimal Time
Making history. Ewan’s timepieces draw inspiration from a historical attempt to reform how society measures time. The ten-hour system was put into practice during the French Revolution in 1793, aiming to streamline calculations and sever ties with outdated traditions. This revolutionary era sought a rational approach to governance, extending to tools as basic as clocks.
The decimal time initiative lasted from late 1793 to April 1795 before facing suspension due to significant public resistance . The shift proved challenging; daily life and existing timekeeping devices struggled to adapt to this new paradigm. In a bold move, some watchmakers created clocks with dual numbering, showing both decimal and traditional representations, to ease the transition. However, entrenched customs and business practices ultimately stifled the experiment’s viability.
The Societal Implications of Time
What does it mean? Ewan’s clocks do much more than tell time; they act as a catalyst for questioning the conventions surrounding it. By illustrating how the division of time could lead to profound social transformation , Ewan invites onlookers to reconsider their perspective on reality. This period of revolutionary France championed values like reason , equality , and efficiency , fundamentally altering various aspects of society, including how time is measured.
With a simple redesign of a clock, Ewan poses a powerful statement that urges us to reflect on the rigidity of the traditional capitalist time structure . Alongside the clocks, she distributed pamphlets discussing the idealistic, utopian concept of time favored during the Revolution, further driving home her message. In this exploration, she ignites our imagination, compelling us to envision alternative futures and reconsider our everyday relationship with time.
In an era where the perception of time is often defined by the constraints of modern life, Ewan’s art serves as a reminder that our most fundamental understandings can be shifted by creative thinking . Through her innovative clock, she pushes us to contemplate how the organization of time can affect not just our schedules, but our values , aspirations, and even humanity as a whole.