Time moves faster in the mountains

Music by Frieda Emmrich
Visuals & Interactiondesign by Camilla Scholz

Inspired by Carlo Rovelli’s The Order of Time, this interactive artwork brings to life the phenomenon of time dilation, the way gravity alters the speed of time. Though imperceptible to human senses, this effect is already measurable with precise clocks on Earth: time moves slower near massive objects, as it does at sea level, and faster at higher altitudes, such as in the mountains.
In this installation, you walk across a floor designed as a topographical map, where peaks and valleys influence the speed of your personal time. As you move, your personal speed of time becomes audible, the music dedicated to you speeds up or slows down. On the walls, each person is given their own piece of sky, shifting from day to night at a pace dictated by their personal time.
By listening, you can sense when you are in sync with someone else, your times aligning in harmony. By looking at the wall, you can compare skies and see when the same amount of time has passed for different individuals.
By transforming an abstract physical phenomenon into an immersive experience, Time Moves Faster in the Mountains challenges our assumption that time is absolute, revealing its fluid and personal nature.

Camera: Lun Raaberg, Pauline Hübner
Participants: Mirjam Bär, Neo Klinger und Jingwen Luo