Ad Memoriam Charcoals

Clocks tell us a story about time. They tell us that time is regular, predictable, infinite. They tell us that once a minute is passed, it is lost to us. But where in this story of time is the human experience? Because we all know that time isn't quite as predictable as this story suggests. We've all experienced time travelling fast and slow, and we've all experienced moments that creep back into our consciousness, again and again, long after that moment is passed.

 

The Ad Memoriam Charcoals and Clocks tell a different story about time. They manipulate the use of the clock mechanism - that regular, never-ending cycle - and put it to a different use - one that expresses the experience of time, and interrogates it's relationship with memory. They ask the question: how can we use the mechanism of the perpetually turning clock to build a better relationship with time?

 

The Ad Memoriam Charcoals were created by members of the public through participatory group workshops exploring the relationships we have with time through memory. Through a series of exercises, they created text and image based charcoal artworks which represented a significant time to them.

 

Participants were asked to select a section of the drawings to preserve, and a smaller section to erase. These smaller sections were then placed on the Ad Memoriam Clocks – kinetic devices which run using a clockwork mechanism. These gradually erase the charcoal marks. Similarly to memory itself, the marks on the paper are never fully erased, but rather smudged, distorted and faded.

 

Through this process of preservation and erasure, participants are invited to be intentional in how they engage with their own personal histories by choosing what memories to take into the future.