HOW

An observatory of fluids. To be set up near you to keep track of time in a non-mechanistic way that reflects your surroundings.

Start the day with clean water.
To begin an interval, drop some ink into the tank.
The interval ends when the fluids have settled. The duration reflects environmental factors — heat, light, humidity.

Just as the process is modulated by local conditions, the materials used to construct the device are specific to the setting where it was built:

TANK
Found in Eindhoven on Marktplaats. Turned out to be free because the seller was concerned about a chip in the corner she hadn't noticed.

PANELS
The chipboard panels come from my asshole former neighbour in Brussels, who was throwing away an apartment's worth of almost-new Ikea cabinetry when he moved out. Aluminum T-profiles from an Eindhoven scrapyard are screwed onto the short edges to allow mounting of legs.

LEGS
Holds the tank at a good height for working mostly on the floor. Cut from a very long piece in the school workshop. Originals mysteriously went missing after the photo shoot. Fortunately enough material remained and I stumbled across an abandoned saw in the school in time to replace them.

CLAMPS
Holds legs on sufficiently. Mix of bent, rather than cast, steel c-clamps from Leroy Merlin in Paris and a secondhand store in Eindhoven. This type of clamp looks nice but tends to flex under heavy load.

CLAMP-ON VISE
Good for working on projects in different places. In this case, holds the back panel when needed. From a secondhand store in Eindhoven. An old man looking around gestured someone over to translate to me that he also had one of these vices, and could recommend it.

SPOTLIGHTS
Helps to distinguish the ink in conditions outside of direct sunlight. Old Philips models from vendors at the flea market at the speed skating track in Eindhoven specializing in Philips lamps. Two are mounted on an aluminium rail from the scrapyard, while a third can be mounted elsewhere as needed. Shades can optionally direct light.