Improvised mortar clock

color video, sound

As the video’s title suggests—Improvised Mortar Clock—Roderick Buchanan and a friend improvised the construction of a soccer ball launcher. Inside a private apartment, the ball is propelled with a punch into a tube wedged against an open window, landing on the lawn of the apartment building.

Although the equipment used is rudimentary and the home-and-away sports situation is somewhat absurd, the protocol is nonetheless strictly followed and rigorously enforced: placing the ball, making adjustments, counting down the seconds using a stopwatch, giving the starting signal, recording the result, counting down again…

Just like a soccer game, this work combines the joy of play with the discipline of hard work. Through his passion for soccer, Roderick also offers a nod to the artistic creation process, questioning the methods used to produce a work that aims to be demanding and rigorous, yet also inventive and openly unexpected.