| One meter four rulers, 2023 Rulers brass engraved with diamond tip, fabric case 4 rulers : 10/20/30/40×2,5×0,2 cm unfolded case : 15×52×0,5 cm Poster screeprint, fine art paper 285gr 46×61 cm In collaboration with Wasted Time, Lisbonne Photo Wasted Time | A set of four brass rulers that add up to one meter. Or, to put it another way, the distance light travels in 299,792,458ths of a second, as specified on the diamond-engraved reverse. This definition establishes a fundamental relationship between the speed of light, time and space – constant physical properties of nature. Precise and universal, this definition does not depend on specific physical prototypes, and enables us to use a common basis for measuring lengths. It follows on from the introduction of the metric system, in which the meter was calculated on the basis of a fraction of the earth’s circumference, which in turn replaced the numerous body units used until then: foot, elbow, toise, palm, fathom… And so, in a unification of language, we moved from measuring bodies to measuring the earth, to arrive at the invariable measurement of time. It’s no longer a material standard, but its physical representation, invariable and reproducible. Anaïs Wenger Extract from the exhibition text |