The Clock Clock Project

The Clock Clock project started in 2008 and was one of the first collaborative venture by Humans since 1982. It was the catalyst for their ongoing exploration of the concept of time through kinetic sculptural works and the stepping stone for their A million Times project. 

The project subverts clocks to represent them as art objects, unleashed from a solely pragmatic existence. The hands of multiple analogue clocks are programmed to spin individually and in formation to perform an abstract choreography. Once every minute, the clock hands align to accurately display the time in a digital typography, playfully reporting and representing the concept of time passing.

The idea for The Clock Clock came about 2008. Inspiration came from Philippe Apeloig, the influential French designer and former dancer who often worked with moving typography and for whom co-founder Bastian had interned. Another inspiration was Stefan Sagmeister, an Austrian graphic designer who created massive typographic installations.

“What fascinated us was this idea of ‘designing time’ and using time as a factor when creating objects”, says Bastian.

The founders, Per and Bastian, started experimenting and devised an animated font system based on moving clock faces. They made the clock hands stop in certain positions to create letters and digits. Once the clock hands rotated again, the characters would fall apart.

In 2009, Humans since 1982 was invited to participate in an exhibition of emerging talents at the Design Festival London. Excited about the opportunity, but with only a conceptual video to show, they quickly needed to assemble a working prototype. Through a mutual friend, they met David Cox, an Australian engineer who worked for the tech company Ericsson in Stockholm and agreed to help construct the The Clock Clock. 

The exhibition in London paved the way for another show at Saatchi Gallery the year after. As the stakes grew, the duo knew they needed to develop an object to match the global art market standards. 

The show at Saatchi Gallery became a pivotal point for Humans since 1982. Following its success, the studio continued to perfect its objects and gain global recognition. David Cox eventually came on board as CTO and partner. In 2010, the studio released a white version of The Clock Clock.

The concept has developed in ambition, complexity and scale over the past decade into two ongoing series: ClockClock 24 and A million Times.

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