Water Clock
Interactive Digital Installation, 2025.1
Background
Water Clock begins with ancient systems of measuring time through the movement of water. Early water clocks made time visible through the gradual rise or fall of water levels, turning an abstract concept into a continuous physical process. The project revisits this historical image to reflect on how time is perceived in a digital context.
Research
The project looks at early water clocks from ancient Egypt and Rome, and at water as a medium for representing time. Unlike modern clocks, which divide time into precise numerical units, water suggests a more continuous, fluid, and irreversible sense of duration.
Design
The work uses water droplets, ripples, and simple geometric forms as its main visual language. Through hand gestures, visitors can gather, move, and release digital droplets, which respond with movement, sound, and expanding ripples.
The interaction turns the measurement of time into a bodily experience, allowing time to be perceived through accumulation, movement, and dispersal.
