The Current Time

The Current Time as the Value of Light From a Seven Segment Display is an artwork by Ravi Avasti, and an accurate clock. Imagine that an alarm clock has been turned to face the wall. The electronic digits on the face of the clock shine onto and illuminate the wall. As the time on the clock changes, so then will the light cast onto the wall by the clock. The work gives the time in the form of that light. Four squares show the hours and minutes. Each square glows with the amount of light its digit would cast: an 8, with all seven segments lit, is the brightest; a 1, with only two, is the darkest. As the formation of the clock digits follows an entirely different logic to the sequence of the digits, the time is displayed in a nonlinear manner. The clock is readable with practice, but on occasion we must wait for several minutes to establish what the time was: now can only be read with reference to the past. • Shows the time in 24-hour format, hours then minutes • Keeps the screen awake while open, so it can be left running as a display • Press and hold the work for more about it • No ads, no accounts, no data collected