The sun has been revered and represented in various cultures and civilizations around the world. In the Northern Black Forest, it has been manifested throughout public space by the many historical solar clocks. Wayfinding and text styles traditionally are male-dominated fields. Consciously disrupting this tendency, Berlin-based type designer Charlotte Rohde distributes her fonts, drawing inspiration from contemporary themes of womanhood.
A series of new sundials are permanently installed as outdoor installations spread over multiple central locations in the Northern Black Forest area. Beyond their aesthetic appeal, the newly made sundials play with the concept of time perception. Before standardized time zones, local times varied based on the sun's position. For instance, Karlsruhe experiences slightly earlier sunsets compared to Baden-Baden. Time zones brought order to our lives, but an unadapted sundial provides a more accurate reflection of our natural biological rhythms.
The result of a collaboration between Rohde and regional clock tower manufacturer Perrot, globally known for the hour plates of the Mecca timepiece, in which they eagerly worked on reviving heritage techniques into contemporary timepieces. The limited display of the sundial by Rohde and Perrot—it reads only from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.—aligns with the standard workday in Western society. This, in turn, emphasizes the manipulation of time based on social constructs. Traditional office hours often neglect domestic work, typically performed by women and often falling outside of these hours. More than just timekeepers, these sundials stand as a silent tribute to restless female workers.
