I love Maarten Baas sand timer called Just About Now, and the short film about it that Laikingland is presenting.

 

The dutch designer  has created a timer in collaboration with kinetic objects company  Laikingland that’s specifically designed not to be accurate.

These creations show us the passing of time with the sounding of a gong. The making of the short film coincide with an exhibition in Beijing, that finished in 10 April, at the O Clok exhibition by Triennale Design Museum.

The system starts by scooping sand from a bowl into a glass funnel. From there the sand trickles down into a brass cup that’s attached to a beater, before leaking back into the bowl and causing the beater to strike a gong when the cup is empty.

The intention was for Just About Now to be used for measuring periods of time that don’t need to be precise, like taking a nap for example.

 

The piece was presented at Ventura Lambrate in Milan.