In a world where time is fleeting, a man has been trapped inside a clock close to Paddington Station outside 50 Eastbourne Terrace. He cleans and paints the hands on the face of the clock to show the current time before having to remove it to show the new time.
Could the clock be a symbol for the man’s inability to move on? He must keep cleaning and drawing new hands, but he’ll never be able finish what has been started because time will always tick away no matter how hard it tries…
Dutch artist Maarten Bass designed this clock and he knew exactly what he was doing: trapping someone in an endless cycle where their life’s work becomes obsolete before they even complete it.
The clock is part of Bass’s Real Time series, performances in 12 hour films combining theatre, art and film production in a series of new clock designs.
It’s easy to stand there and watch the man in the clock (pun intended). He is dressed in Victorian clothing, often a mere silhouette before he leans closer to the clock face where the clothing detail and moustache become clearer. He sometimes wears a bowler hat.
