1
10 Sec/ Hour is a timeline of audio recordings that only allow ten seconds per hour, totaling each day into four minutes. Each day, for three days, I set a timer one minute before each hour. I then recorded the first ten seconds of every hour unless I was sleeping. 10 Sec / Hour is an audio “jotting” of life that places emphasis on the endotic. Although this project is about sampling intimate moments, it is important to note that it is also about what is left out as well. The day is condensed into 4:00 minutes or 240 seconds leaving remembrance and imagination to form. Like pictures, the audio in my piece triggers the activation of memory.
The inspiration for 10 Sec/ Hour materialised after I thought about how people, including myself, treat life as performative act more than ever.. We put our best face on for social media, dozens of selfies lie waiting in our camera rolls, and we only post while traveling or trying something new. I wanted to collect samples of what Georges Perec would call the “infraordinary” or “non spectacular” moments of life. Audio was essential to this project because it removed the object and subject from view. The time frame, ten seconds, doesn’t allow for much performance either because there is only so much one can do in so little time.
10 Sec/Hour is a web based project that can be universally accessed as long as the link is functioning. The timeline can be displayed on any screen for traditional galleries or be embedded into online gallery website for viewing as well.