This Too | Unche Studio

120x120x30 in | Plywood, Steel | 2024
on view on the north lawn of PS1 Close House (538 S. Gilbert St. Iowa City)
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“This Too” is derived from the phrase ‘This too shall pass,’ believed to have originated in Farsi and among Sufi poets. The adage aims to bring joy in times of sorrow and melancholy in times of satisfaction, serving as a reminder of the ephemerality of all conditions. The written phrase, “.این نیز بگذرد” contains twelve characters, which, for us, echo the numerals on a clock.

The typographical numerals, drawing from the flowing interlaced forms of Islamic knot patterns such as Girih and Arabesque, reflect the never-ending cycle of events, symbolizing the infinite nature of time and its perpetual flow. The English translation of the phrase is formed using a circular grid inspired by Spacetime diagrams and influenced by Square Kufi script, and is painted in black on the body of the clock.

Aesthetically, the clock/table aims to simulate spacetime diagrams through its 720 wooden pieces and vibrant colors. A clock is an appliance that directly displays the passage of time, while a table is the object around which the passage of time takes place, whether in the form of dining, meeting, discussion, studying, planning, drawing lines of flights.

This project was generously supported by the Iowa City Public Art Advisory Committee Matching Grant and the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

You’re invited to submit your response to this artwork & concept:

THIS TOO
— A Collective Writing

Reflect on the phrase, "This too shall pass."


Your words will join others, creating a continuous scroll of shared reflections across time.