MADE IN CYLAND

In his experimental research, the outstanding Soviet astronomer Nikolai Kozyrev developed a new concept – time density, which depended on processes taking place in nature. Kozyrev tried to prove that processes with a reduction of entropy (for example, apples blooming in orchards, warmth, light and so on) weaken the time density around them, or absorb time. On the contrary, processes accompanied by an increase in entropy (withering of matter, thunder, a loud noise and so on) increase time density, and accordingly radiate time. These hypotheses have not been confirmed by the scientific community, but have many followers around the world.

In their project, Elena Gubanova and Ivan Govorkov have attempted to find a pictorial expression of Kozyrev’s experiments. This is not an imitation of research, but their artistic interpretation. A screen displaying drifting clouds is placed on a laboratory table. Next to it hangs a round Soviet-era clock connected to the screen by light sensors. The video affects the movement of the minute hand: the clouds make it slow down, and dark patches of sky make it speed up. The clouds symbolize the anti-entropic process, and the clear sky symbolizes stagnation. The installation also includes a prototype of Kozyrev’s torsion balance.