Sensing Time Beyond Measure

IN/FINITY is part of the series (Un)Necessary Objects, which questions the rituals and instruments that shape our daily existence. The project explores how our relationship to time can be embodied in a luminous object. Conceived as a hybrid form, neither a lamp nor a clock, IN/FINITY evokes the sensation of time as something fluid and experiential. Its shape, reminiscent of a droplet in motion, becomes a sculptural metaphor for continuity and impermanence.

IN/FINITY invites reflection on human behavior and the perceptual framing of time in contemporary life. It proposes light as a conceptual extension of time, transforming illumination into a medium for sensing duration, rhythm, and presence. The object reveals new insights into the sensory identity of time, materialized through subtle shifts in brightness. Functioning as a temporal indicator, IN/FINITY modulates its intensity according to key hours of the day. Every four hours, the light reaches its peak, gently signaling the need to pause and recalibrate the pace of life. In doing so, the object resists the logic of productivity and instead encourages a contemplative rhythm, and rather than measuring time, IN/FINITY invites us to feel it. The object transforms light into a medium of temporal awareness, modulating its intensity in response to key hours of the day.

Inspired by Henri Bergson’s concept of duration, the project treats time not as a sequence of quantifiable units but as a qualitative flow shaped by perception and consciousness. IN/FINITY materializes this flow, allowing users to inhabit time through sensory experience rather than mechanical measurement. Currently in development, the project proposes a poetic intervention into the landscape of functional design. It reimagines illumination as a gesture of care, a quiet reminder of presence, rhythm, and the possibility of slowing down.

in/finity