Jordan, Chris

www.seej.net/create/

Locost Queue, 2012

Light Installation, Clock Tower

Chris Jordan's augmented clock installation utilizes light, shadow and movement inside the iconic clock tower, visible after sunset and before midnight from outside the 14-story Queens Plaza Bank of Manhattan building. The installation depicts a queue of silhouetted people, moving across the four clock faces. The rate of movement correlates directly to the population increase of New York City in real-time, while the flashes of light mark the rate of extinction of a species.

Jordon’s work examines the changing movement of light, and the environmental impact of overpopulation, from the historical perspective of a landmark that has seen the city expand by over two million people since it was built. The work challenges the community to correlate time with the ever-increasing population of the city. Landmark and spectacle are made mundane through the use of simple shadow play, in the form of waiting in a line.

The installation is constructed of 100% recycled/repurposed materials, using technology available in 1927, at the inauguration of the clock tower.