Decimal Clock

Decimal Clock (2023) is an uncanny way to describe the passing of time through light via the decimal system, which is now mostly discontinued as a mode of time measurement.

Carsten Höller’s desire to make what he called “the most complicated clock on earth” is at the origin of this series that uses the number of its rings as its unit. In this new order are situated twenty neon rings of increasing diameter and alternating colour. The orange rings signify the current decimal hour, and one lights up as time passes from the center to the outer rim in a constant manner.

The blue rings behave in two possible ways, lit statically to signify the latest passed ten decimal minutes within the hour or jumping every tenth decimal second. The artwork reverts to a system last used on a large scale during the First French Republic (1792–1804) and makes the visitors lose their bearings. Decimal Clock, with its ten decimal “hours”, one hundred decimal “minutes”, and one hundred decimal “seconds” for our usual 24 hours showcases Carsten Höller’s deep interest for the abstract concept of time that encompasses life.