The Man in the Clock

The Man in the Clock

At the Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands, it’s hard for travellers to miss the enormous clock ‘with the man inside’. The clock is an iconic work of art that combines functionality with a very interesting experience.

This clock has no ordinary hands. Every minute is painted specially and then wiped away by a man in blue overalls. A small door and a staircase are incorporated into the back of the clock, to give the man access to his workplace. So what is the mystery behind the man in the clock who is day in, day out, painting clock hands on the glass plate of the clock.

This 'painter' is, in fact, a 12-hour-long recording that creates a compelling illusion of a man standing inside the transparent clock, tirelessly working as the hands move around. This inventive timepiece is the most recent work of Maarten Baas, a renowned Dutch artist and designer known for his series of similar live clock recordings.

For Astronomy fans, here’s a gorgeous picture of Saturn captured by the Cassini spacecraft. Space is mesmerising!

This is the Ring Nebula. The James Webb telescope reveals intricate details in the remains of a dying star.

Uranus has never looked better, really. This picture, by the James Webb telescope again of this ice giant highlights bright atmospheric features, as well as 11 of the planet’s 13 rings. We have never been able to photograph Uranus as clearly as this before.

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