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Water Clocks

Paper, water colour. Various dimensions. 2020-2022

A water clock is one of the oldest instruments for measuring time. By letting water flow into or out of a vessel, the passing of time was measured. One of the simplest form of a water clock was a cone shaped vessel with a hole at the bottom, and the inner surface marked with lines. As the level of its water dropped, hours could be told using the markings inside. 

Drawings with organic lines have slowly appeared by placing paper in a container filled with pigmented water, or just water, that has been left to evaporate. 

The amount of time each container can carry is varied. The average time for the smaller works is 33 days. 

The drawings show time as changeable and dependent on its surroundings. The works carry within themselves, a relationship between the artist herself, time, space, material, and physical phenomena such as temperature, humidity, evaporation, and gravitation. All parameters collaborate and affect the process. 

Whilst the water evaporates inside the container, its surface seems completely still to the eye. However, fine vibrations can be seen in the finished work. Like the growth rings of a tree, or the sediments of a mountain, the drawings tell us about an occurrence and a continuous movement beyond our perceptions. 

© Clarissa Siimes 2022

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