"clockwork for oracles" by Ugo Rondinone

Although brightly coloured, Ugo Rondinone’s materially diverse works have a melancholy undertone and present viewers with the inevitable passing of time. The site-specific installation ‘clockwork for oracles’ invokes the latter in both its title and in the 52 pieces that make up the work, corresponding to the number of weeks in the year. The newsprint papering this wall also invokes a specific time – namely the date on which the newspaper was printed – while the reflective surfaces of each opaque window-like form reflect the viewer back to themselves. Collectively, these references to time’s passing and personal reflection engage themes of mortality and finitude.