Spurious Brood

Christopher Mahonski traces our evolving relationship to nature and time with an installation of hundreds of digital wristwatches infesting the park’s trees. By strategically setting each clock’s alarm, Mahonski creates a digital symphony that performs daily in the park at 4:00PM and 5:00PM. With each crescendo and exchange, visitors to Socrates may recall the memorable mating songs of the cicadas.

This haunting aural experience is further enhanced by the subtle blue light each watch emits while “chiming.” Celebrating the setting sun, the rising moon, and the resounding digital chorus, the glowing watch faces also reference the luminous wings and dark opalescent bodies of the cicadas. Mahonski’s installation composes sound and light, all while artificially – but no less earnestly – reproducing a natural phenomenon.

Special thanks to Timex Ironman