Eleven eleven
Eleven o'clock eleven... 11+11... the trouble of a mirror hour. You've probably already experienced that strange moment when you look at the clock and discover a mirror hour. In the same register 10:22 p.m., 4:44 a.m., 5:55 a.m.…
Depending on the clock, if it is digital, we have the feeling of being in front of a casino slot machine and of having obtained a winning combination. When you do research on this subject, the explanations are diverse and varied, ranging from coded communication from angels to the most contradictory numerology depending on the site that will try to explain its meaning to you.
However, the subject remains troubling, because I have already experienced a succession of these mirror hours in a very short time, going from 10:22 p.m. to 3:33 a.m. then 5:55 a.m. and 4:16 p.m. For some it is an uncompromising coincidence, for others it is a source of concern and still others a wonderful opportunity to integrate beneficial meaning into it. And for you ? What inspires you?
Many musical artists have already alluded to these mirror figures through their titles. Thus Charlotte Gainsbourg with her album 5:55 or the contemporary jazz group eleven hours eleven. The group “Les aphrodite's child” initiated a legendary double album with 666 in 1972.
Recurrently, I see this type of combinations which take on a more interrogative dimension when they manifest themselves during the nights and when the dark atmosphere of a space brings an even more masterful dimension.
Recently during a train trip, the gradual arrival at the station revealed a parade of people waiting on the platform. The train stopped near a group of four people, made up of two different generations and a dog. Their postures left no doubt about their presence here. The older couple had taken a seat on the platform bench and the younger couple stood side by side standing in front of them.
The lady in the foreground was holding a small dog with wavy hair and a color similar to her dress on a leash. The clock on the platform read eleven eleven. The expressions on their faces, all facing the same direction, seemed to indicate a certain anxiety. Only the dog was paying attention in the opposite direction.
Was there a link between the clock, their postures and this bituminous and metallic space? We could precisely perceive all the uncertainty that marked their looks and their gestures, as if they had come there to meet someone without the slightest conviction of their arrival. This rather outdated platform gave the feeling of being in a recreated setting from an old American film from the 1930s.
The projected shadows landed on the ground like in a cardboard theater. Will the expected be on time? The largely bare dimension of this scene was strangely reminiscent of Hitchcock's film "Death on the Trail" when Cary Grant finds himself in the open countryside in "Prairie Stop". The situation on this quayside featured four people, each with their own question, like four Cary Grants, like eleven o'clock eleven, 11, 11, like 4 times 1. This strange posture involved in this setting invited me to sketch in a few minutes the offbeat atmosphere that took place during this short stop.
Sitting behind my compartment window, my position offered me this distance and this height which allowed me to discreetly observe the attitude of this group of which we could easily imagine the visual perspective they could have. The train moved on again, leaving the situation unresolved with an outcome that each of us can imagine at our convenience. This short moment brought during this stop a strange questioning about posture, usage and time. The sketch was transformed into a painting and I invite you to discover this work by clicking here.
