Khaled Barakeh, One Hour is Sixty Minutes and Vice Versa, 2009

Semitic languages, which long ago adopted the Aramaic

alphabet, such as Arabic and Hebrew, are considered

sinistroverse, meaning they pass from right to left.

European languages, many of which use the Latin alphabet,

are considered dextroverse, meaning they pass from left

to right. Ancient Greek is boustrophedon. The reading

direction and the orientation of its letters switches with

each line.

One Hour is Sixty Minutes and Vice Versa plays with the

conception of directions and norms embedded in our

language, and therefore our culture. It is a manipulation

of the deeply ingrained grammars which structure our

understanding in everyday life. The telling of time here

serves as a moment of permeability between cultures.

The clock, which runs counter-clockwise and marks the

minutes and hours with Hindu-Arabic numerals, tells

perfect time within its own system. It simply suggests

the viewer to accept its specific directionality, or view its

reflection in a mirror.