The ubiquitous dial clock is familiar to all of us.
But, when we refer to a wrist watch, wall clock, or public clock tower to check the time, we rarely give thought to the way in which the medium subliminally affects our mood.
A clock's motion may be ponderous, or agitated; staccato, or legato; it may imply precision, or indeterminacy; it might announce the time with grandiloquence, or offer it with apologetic humility.
All of these characteristics are invariable. They are inherent in the governing escapement of the timepiece – and they are expressed through the manner in which the hands make their passage around the clock-face.
Huahet
“Huahet” has been conceived as an exploration of the psychological affects of movement characteristics.
Three possible realisation formats are proposed:
1. Virtual (as glimpsed below, using mathematical descriptors to define movement characteristics)
2. Museum format (in which multiple clocks with different escapement characteristics are constructed, and displayed in a walk-through exhibition space)
3. A single sophisticated mechanical timepiece (in which various characteristics of the escapement and movement may be adjusted by means of adjustable linkages and gearing.
