Humans since 1982 are a Stockholm-based design group. Their studio name is based on their date of birth, which causes your scribe to ask what were they before 1982? Too imponderable for a short essay. More ponderable is 1982 is the year famed Swedish photographer Dawid (Björn Dawidsson) began his tonal black & white series Arbetsnamn Skulptur, allowing your scribe to declare 1982 as an auspicious year in which to be born. Design Days Dubai have commissioned Human Since 1982 to create a special project – A Million Years – for the main entrance of the second edition of the Dubai fair (18 – 21 March 2013).
[vimeo http://vimeo.com/60491636]
A Million Times is 288 single clocks arrayed in 12 rows. The hands move in apparent random fashion until a readable pattern appears and it becomes apparent the installation is carefully orchestrated with an unseen conductor directing the ensemble. Engineered by David Cox, the customised software is conducted via iPad. A still on the Victor Hunt website demonstrates how the work can take on the look of a cross-stitch canvas.
Clocks are often associated with the Latin phrase tempis fugit. Colloquial American English for the phrase is “time’s a wasting”, and it is. Book your ticket to Dubai now. Time – and Design Days Dubai – wait for no man. DJ
