One Attempt to Measure Time

One Attempt to Measure Time, 2026
12ft x 9ft x8ft ( Size adjustable )
Installation View in Kingston Gallery, Boston

One Attempt to Measure Time is a multimedia 16mm film installation that transforms time into a physical, spatial, and sculptural experience. With loops of 16mm film running at 24 fps, the work extends the film strip beyond the projector and into the gallery, traveling overhead, across the walls, and down toward the floor before returning to the projector. The movement of the film makes the passage of time physically visible. Mechanically, It finds its balance within.

Two projectors face each other with non-synchronized countdown loops. One uses a found academic film leader, counting down from 8 to 0, with each number corresponding to one second of screen time. The second is an animated text sequence that also counts from 8 to 0, but expands each number according to its duration: 8 remains on screen for eight seconds, 7 for seven seconds, and so on. The two countdowns measure the same numerical sequence through different structures, creating a physical experience of duration.

Enter the space, 35mm film slides collected from different locations and moments are arranged along a horizontal line. Images of landscapes, mountains, seasons, and distant places become collage of time and geography, connecting individual moments to larger scales of temporal and spatial change. Physical film strips, rulers, tape, and other measuring objects scatter in other part of the space, extending the language of measurement from the film frame into the surrounding architecture.

One Attempt to Measure Time asks how time might be seen, heard, measured, and physically encountered.

The installation is site-responsive and can adapt to different gallery dimensions.

View the 30s preview on Vimeo

BTS photo

Photo Credit – Yue Hua, Leping Cao