Reconstructing Time with Maarten Baas at the Carpenters Workshop Gallery, London

With a practice that integrates conceptual art, installation and performance, Dutch designer Maarten Baas unveils three new works that add to his Real Time series, which started in 2009. Presented by the Carpenters Workshop Gallery, London, from May 22 – August 30, 2025, the design exhibition titled Reconstructing Time continues Baas' exploration of how humans relate to time. It features filmed performances shown on functional clock-like sculptures. The Real Time series combines theatre, art, video and design, changing how we think about timekeeping. Each piece in the collection works as a clock while challenging traditional views on time, beauty and imperfection.

The newly unveiled works include Jan Jutte Clock, a collaboration with Jan Jutte, an award-winning children's book illustrator and Baas' former art teacher. In this piece, Jutte sketches the clock hands in real time using charcoal, creating a soft gradient as the minutes go by. The canvas around it comes alive with his colourful drawings, which explore time through a childlike, expressive lens. Every hour, the artwork gets wiped clean, highlighting the cyclical nature of time and creativity.

In the Confetti Clock, Baas portrays time as a continuous joyful celebration. A film depicts a hedonistic scene of pleasure and entertainment. While endless streams of confetti are strewn, a dutiful character persistently sweeps it up to keep the time readable. The cycle restarts with an extra burst of confetti every hour at exactly 11 minutes past, referencing the symbolic start of Carnival in parts of Europe, where the number 11 represents excess and inversion.

The Reconstruction Clock offers a poetic reflection on order and chaos. Over 12 hours, human hands carefully arrange scattered clock parts on a surface, positioning them precisely to reflect the exact time. The performance suggests that time is not fixed but is always created and recreated through memory, experience and presence.

Through these imaginative and thought-provoking works, Baas interweaves functionality and performance. With his trademark humour and theatricality, Reconstructing Time invites viewers to see time not just as something measured but as something deeply felt and constantly reimagined.