First designed in 1947 by Martyl Langsdorf, the Doomsday Clock is a visual metaphor of humanity’s proximity to self-made catastrophe with its arrival at midnight. Once tethered to nuclear annihilation, the clock has since expanded to signify ecological, biological, and other global threats. “Re/Set” reimagines the Doomsday Clock and asks what it means to borrow the language of urgency and apply it to a different kind of disaster: the slow normalization of fascist, far-right, and oppressive ideologies.
Starting at the current setting of the Doomsday Clock, 85 seconds to midnight, viewers are encouraged to approach the plinth and interact with the installation using the 2 buttons to push the clock back. The projected clock echoes the familiar glow of household appliances that quietly structure our daily lives. When left alone, the clock ticks forward steadily returning to midnight, flashing with the familiar loop of suspense and latency; a silent alarm so simple and mundane as to become background noise.
The viewer is not asked for a grand gesture. They are asked to take on a small act of resistance, repeatedly: a shared responsibility that cannot be completed once and for all, only carried, handed off, resumed. As the clock continues ticking towards midnight, it asks the audience: Will you push it back? How far? How long will you stay? And who will step in when you go?