Ok, in the realm of ‘news’ that we push out on this site here, this is certainly one of the most exciting, and yet, also one of the most niche news pieces that is getting out there.
So, there’s this film, that goes for 24 hours, and it’s called The Clock. Directed by Christian Marclay, this film is simply 24 hours of clocks, watches, or other references of time collated from film and television into one long film that unfurls in real time. Working as a timepiece, this is a look at film history in a unique, fascinating way.
If you feel that this is some kind of endurance test that you want to challenge yourself to, then head to ACMI in Melbourne from January 23rd through to March 10th to experience this once in a lifetime event. There are limited dates that you can experience the full 24 hour film, so check out the session times below so you can adjust your life accordingly.
Here’s a bit more about The Clock:
Following several years of painstaking research and production aided by a team of assistants, Christian Marclay collated over 12,000 clips from an array of films and TV shows, from canonical thrillers, westerns, musicals and sci-fi’s through to obscure art-house oddities, spanning some eighty years. The final work is an exhilarating work that flows mercurially from such famous cinematic moments like Harold Lloyd hanging off the clock face in Safety Last! (1923) through to peripheral scenes caught by Marclay, such as Helen Morse asking one of her students for the time in Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). Minute by minute, hour by hour, hundreds of characters are jolted awake by alarms, run for trains, wait for lovers, or dream strange dreams. In this way, The Clock is a homage to cinema, gifting audiences the addictive joy of recognising favourite actors or scenes from beloved films, as well as a wildly compelling and dream-like work of its own.
The Clock debuted in 2010 at London’s White Cube Gallery, before travelling the globe, captivating audiences from New York to Moscow. It has inspired a cult devotion, with audiences returning to pass hours under its spell, again and again and again. Described by Marclay as ‘a meditation on time’, The Clockruminates on our insatiable fascination with time, memory and mortality through screen culture. It works with and against the conventions of cinematic storytelling to release a sublime and confounding excess of drama.
Katrina Sedgwick, ACMI DIRECTOR/CEO: “We are thrilled to be exhibiting Christian Marclay’s The Clock. Since we opened in 2002, ACMI has showcased some of the most celebrated contemporary artists in the world. In 2008, Replay Marclay was the first major exhibition presented in Australia celebrating Marclay’s work and was the first solo exhibition to be staged in ACMI’s Gallery 1. It’s fitting then to be presenting this extraordinary 24-hour moving image work as our final Gallery 1 exhibition before we close for our Renewal project.”
This FREE exhibition will be open daily from 10am to 5pm Friday to Wednesday, and the full 24-hour installation will screen Thursday nights from 23 January to 10 March. The Clock comes to ACMI direct from the Tate Modern in London.
The Clock
23rd January to 10th March 2019, 10am – 5pm
24 hour Screening Dates:
10am Thurs 24–5pm Fri 25 Jan
10am Thurs 31 Jan– 5pm Fri 1 Feb
10am Thurs 7 Feb –5pm Fri 8 Feb
10am Thurs 4 Feb –5pm Fri 15 Feb
10am Thurs 21 Feb –5pm Fri 22 Feb
10am Thurs 28 Feb–5pm Fri 1 Mar
10am Thurs 7 March –5pm Fri 8 Mar
