the ‘sand’ zen garden clock by london-based design duo, bike and begum ayaskan of studio ayaskan, is a meditative play on the landscape art of kare-sansui. like an hourglass, the timepiece uses sand to represent the passing of time, in this case using a rake that crosses the bed leaving ripples behind.

images courtesy of studio ayaskan

for the first 12 hours of the day, the rake-edge of the zen garden clock’s single hand creates a series of concentric rings through its sandy surface. then, in preparation for the next 12 hours, the clock hand flips over and smoothes it all out again.

‘within a spacetime continuum, time is perceived as the fourth dimension. the past the present and the future is a whole. ripples of time, allow natural materials to be shaped by time, reminding us of its presence,’ explains bike and begum ayaskan.

‘sand, inspired by the landscape art of kare-sansui – japanese zen rock garden, is the gradual formation and flattening of a ripple pattern over a period of twelve hour cycles. in the daytime the hour hand draws ripple patterns on the sand whereas during the night these patterns are gradually flattened out to restart a new cycle.’

project info

design: studio ayaskan

name: sand