2-channel HD video, 7-channel sound

Commissioned by Singapore Art Museum and Art Sonje Center with M+.

in collaboration with Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo and Sharjah Art Foundation

 T for Time, a two-channel video installation that reflects on the embodied and heterogeneous experiences of time. 

Tzu once remarked, “Time is the chief protagonist in my works.” For him, it’s not merely about the ticking of clocks or passing of days. He dives deep into the concept of time at the atomic level and then zooms out into its vastness on a cosmic scale, contemplating its elusive nature. He muses, “What, after all, is time? We seem to be able only to describe it through metaphors—time flies or time flows. If time is a river, what are its banks? Is there only a single time? And, if so, is it a master clock that controls or enslaves other clocks? Or are there different temporalities, each with its own sovereignty?” As we assembled this exhibition, we pondered whether these diverse manifestations of time can coexist and be appreciated together. T for Time is a collection of Tzu’s notes and speculations on time. This work encompasses a variety of themes, from symbols and concepts of time to the histories of time-keeping traditions in Asia and the West. It also includes intimate anecdotes, such as childhood photographs and home movies belonging to Tzu’s friend and collaborator Arai Tomoyuki, as well as a visit to Victoria Theatre’s clocktower with Mr P. K. Chan. At 79 years old, Mr Chan is not only the manager of the building housing Tzu’s studio but was also the caretaker of the Theatre’s clock for over three decades. These notes are re-animated through 2D animation and then input into an algorithmic system that shuffles and re-assembles them into a “film” consisting of 42 chapters. The sequence and contents vary with each randomised shuffling, yet each iteration is underscored by a 60-minute improvised solo by Soon Kim—a Korean-Japanese free-jazz saxophonist. Despite the changes, every cycle retains elements of both repetition and differentiation. T for Time is accompanied by 39 Timepieces, each functioning as an emblem of time. These range from short video loops of 15 seconds to apps that operate in cycles ranging from 24 hours to 165.8 earth years (a year on Neptune); some also vary in real-time. Collectively, T for Time and Timepieces represent Tzu’s model for a prospective machine that continuously generates new stories, speculations and hallucinations of time—in real-time.