Wolfgang Winkler Rendezvous

Who has ever noticed that they are inside in a labyrinth when they are looking at a clock to find out what time it is? When does clock time begin? When does it end? Why do we believe that the clock can tell us the time? The clock itself certainly has no control over this. And time never means actual time. For example we say ›twelve‹ and follow this with ›one‹ ! Twelve is regarded as synonymous with zero, as both the beginning and the end – a break in the cycle that is not inscribed on the clock face. Does this stem from a fear that spirits might gain access here to our time-based realities? The number twelve indicates not only the middle of the day but also the middle of the night.
The circular sweep of the clock hands simulates continual motion, yet it is merely rotation. The fact that no repetition occurs in the two revolutions of the hands could however be visualized by a clock where the circle is reflected – as day reflects night, and vice versa. What kind of day, what kind of night becomes visible then? If the clock is reflected and the resulting mirrored clock is partly re-reflected, this produces a number eight lying on its side – an infinity symbol that merely raises further
question.
Two workshop clocks: the hands of both clocks rotate synchronously clockwise. The numbers on the reflected clock face are arranged anti-clockwise, but read normally as they have been re-reflected. Therefore when the hands run forwards on the reflected clock, its dial counts backwards. On this clock, the number three takes the place normally occupied by the nine. The eight and the ten on the two clocks sit next to one other in a parallel line, while the nines overlap. These are indicated by a single nine.
But does the nine really indicate the axis of reflection – the line where the mirrored faces meet? What comes together at this point? What is being introduced, connected to one another through the reflection? Who encounters whom during this Rendezvous? At all times, both pairs of hands show the present – it is simply named twice. This present, whose permanent state of current existence makes it inherently motionless, still appears to shift with every passing moment in the continuum of time. But in what direction does the present move? On the normal clock it runs forwards – into the future, leaving the past behind it. The reflected clock is travelling backwards into the past. The normal clock seems to be running towards the end of the future, while the mirrored one is heading towards the beginning of the past, back to the original source.

The Rendezvous Two workshop clocks 1985