The Dragon Chronophage - a work of contemporary art embodying a unique display of time – has been unveiled at the prestigious Shanghai Contemporary Art Fair which runs from 7-9 September 2012.
Created by award-winning inventor-designer Dr John C Taylor OBE to celebrate the Chinese Year of The Dragon, the piece is a remarkable mixture of contemporary design,precision engineering and engaging whimsy. It fuses traditional horology with unexpected mechanical innovation and vast size with extreme delicacy of movement, whilst telling the time with absolute exactness and breathtaking unpredictability.
Dr John C Taylor created the concept of the Chronophage as a personal homage to John Harrison, the creator of the most accurate clock in the world. In the 1720’s, Harrison started his inventive development of his marine chronometer which allowed the first accurate calculations of longitude at sea and a mechanism for controlling clocks which he called the ‘grasshopper’. Dr Taylor decided to turn this grasshopper escapement inside out, so that the mechanism could be seen working, and to increase its size from 35mm to become the world’s largest grasshopper escapement.
Dr John C Taylor OBE explains; “I would say only 1% of people have heard of John Harrison, one of the greatest Englishmen that ever lived, and of these, only 1% would know about the grasshopper escapement. As most people don’t know how it works, I decided to make it big and put it on the outside as a celebration of Harrison’s genius.”
