Time is Honey

A synchronous bi-local experiment about time, preservation, and language meant to yield notes for the poem(s), and other things.

Goal: To reveal through concurrent and similar experiments situated in different locales if time (as demonstrated by rot, decay, change, the law of thermodynamics) runs at the same speed. To reveal cultural concepts of time, time’s passage, history, destruction, memory, and other concepts. To generate notes for the poem(s).

Duration: minimum one year

Site One

Martin’s shelf, Medical Museum, Copenhagen

Materials

one litre glass jar with sealed rubber o-ring lid
225g local Danish honey
Danish letter written on paper from May 12, 1929 between Elee’s ancestors

Site Two

Elee’s backyard tree stump, Vancouver

Materials

one litre glass jar with sealed rubber o-ring lid
225g local BC honey
Danish letter written on paper from June 7, 1929 between Elee’s ancestors

Protocol

In Copenhagen before Sep 18, 2022 Elee will arrange the specimen jar for Site One and install the letter and honey inside. Documentation will be photo, video, notes. The jar will be sealed and placed on Martin’s shelf.

On Sep 21, 2022 on arrival in Canada Elee will arrange the specimen jar for Site Two and install the letter and honey. Documentation will be photo, video, notes. The jar will be sealed and placed on Elee’s shelf.

Neither Martin nor Elee will interfere with the specimens while they experience what they are about to experience. If protocol changes (i.e.: if there is an overwhelming urge to interact with the jar, to smell the contents, to rotate, shake, bury, or boil, etc.) that will be welcomed and noted, but optimally will be practiced on both samples in the same way. Photographs, video, and notes will be collected on a regular basis on an ad hoc schedule and exchanged between Martin and Elee. Decisions about the end-time, the finalization of this experiment will be made at a later date as the process is underway.

When the experiment has concluded, or at such a time as the jars become unviable for any reason, or either Martin or Elee needs to conclude the experiment, the samples will be compared. Best practices are to compare them side by side. If this is not possible, photo and video documentation will take place. At this end point the poem(s) may be shared, “produced” in any format agreeable to Martin and Elee, or incorporated into publication(s).