1m

How Long Does One Minute Last? Our internal sense of time, our biological rhythm, is deeply shaped by our environment and by the mental space we inhabit. When we are doing something we enjoy, time seems to fly; when we experience trauma, time appears to freeze. In memory, a long stretch of time can feel remarkably brief; when we imagine the future, a period that will arrive in the blink of an eye can seem like an eternity.

And what happens during the social isolation brought about by the pandemic?

*1m* sets out to explore these differences in our internal rhythms during this period. One minute will be counted aloud by people from around the world, each experiencing different stages of social isolation and coming from diverse socio-economic backgrounds. These recordings will be combined into a single audio piece, with every voice beginning simultaneously on the first second, gradually drifting further and further out of sync until they form an increasingly cacophonous chorus. The work seeks to reveal the unique internal rhythm of each participant.

The chosen number and the title of the work refer not only to the basic unit of time—a single minute—but also to the minimum physical distance, measured in metres, recommended by the WHO. This reference is further reinforced through an auditory simulation of space, in which the recordings will appear to move progressively farther away from the listener. The final remaining voice—the one with the most expanded internal sense of time—will also become the most distant.

With every passing minute, every additional day (or one day less), we become increasingly distant from our activities, pleasures, responsibilities, and desires, all suspended and paralysed by the circumstances in which we find ourselves. We are further away from those we love, a distance we try to bridge through virtual means. Yet we are also moving further from the beginning of this situation, and closer in space and time to its end.

But until that end arrives, how long will each minute last?