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Recently, the design, art and architecture blog, Dezeen, that has a particular interest in watches, commissioned English artist Dominic Wilcox to create a series of sculptures built on vintage watches.
Called “Moments in Time”, each sculpture consists of a vintage watch as a base with miniature figures mounted to the second and minute hands, and a beautiful glass vitrine to contain it all. The sculptures utilize the motions of the second and minute hand to create irreverent, whimsical and poetic scenes. For example, in “The Unrequited Handshake”, the man mounted to seconds hand has his hand reached out in a gesture of friendliness, but the man on the minute hand has his arms crossed in stubborn refusal. As such, every 60 seconds, for all time, the friendly man’s gesture will be rejected. There is also “The Watch Sweeper”, the most “meta” of the sculptures, where a man mounted to the seconds hand is sweeping away all of the other markers on the face as well as the hour and minute hands.
There are many reasons why I love these pieces, the subtly of the interactions, the detail of the little figurines, and of course, the repurposing of watches and pocket watches. Though clearly not meant to be worn, the left over straps imply a world where perhaps watches on not meant as functional accessories, but rather as miniature storytellers where the passing of time is told by much more abstract means: “I’ll meet you when the little boy finds the girl hiding behind the tree.”
On view and for sale at Dezeen Space in London Sept 17 – Oct 16, 2011
For more images and information
DominicWilcox.com
Dezeen
images via DominicWilcox.com and Dezeen.com
