Zermatt, Switzerland
“I visited the Hublot factory, which is about two and a half hours from Zermatt. I started to think about what could be an appropriate installation that wouldn’t be too specific, that would be about time. I’ve always been fascinated with sundials or sun clocks. We didn’t know if it would be winter or summer, but given the connection with Hublot in Switzerland and this region, we started developing the idea to create a sun clock that would be made out of materials that are ephemeral,” states Daniel Arsham.
“When you see the installation, it’s made out of ice and snow. Not only is it this thing that tells time and captures time, but it will also disappear and be erased by it,” he concludes.
Named “Light & Time,” the horological piece by New York-based Daniel Arsham and Swiss watchmaker Hublot is designed to converge the concepts of timekeeping and land art.
Sitting at the base of the Matterhorn and measures out to 20 meters wide.
The flat plate is sculpted out of snow and features a set of six arches around the edges while a pure white obelisk stands tall in the center.
Inside the aforementioned arches, you’ll find icy blocks that have Arsham chiseled together to add more flair to the Swiss Alps installation.
It is a fully functional sculptural installation based around the shadows cast by the sun shining on a quartz crystal-shaped obelisk.
This central pointer thus marks time in the most simple way, albeit with a true Arsham twist.
The face of the snow dial features a restrained relief pattern echoing Hublot’s design language, which has been etched out of the snow.
The familiar cues also include the recognizable screws that hold the Big Bang’s bezel in place.
Best of all is that the installation will only be visible from the top of the mountain – art lovers and visitors must ride Zermatt’s ski lifts to view the creation from above.
As the artist has stated, he has never worked with such materials before, so this was a “trial and error” experience for him.
“‘The siting of the work is both in relation to the Matterhorn, the Zermatt sign where everyone takes pictures, but also you can see it from the Gondola as you ski down. There are different perspectives and it’s something you have to walk around in order to experience. The ice changes dramatically throughout the day. It catches like the sapphire of the watches, it catches and refracts light as you move through it,” Arsham continues.
Project: Sundial Clock at Zermatt
Artist: Daniel Arsham
Collaborator: Hublot S.A.
