FRESH20 Catalogue - Flipbook - Page 16
ANNA
LUSCOMBE
TEMPO RUBATO
Time travels in diverse paces with diverse persons. I’ll tell you who time ambles withal,
who time trots withal, who time gallops withal, and who he stands withal.
(Shakespeare, As You Like it, III,ii)
The idea that time passes is widely debated amongst physicists, philosophers and
psychologists. Yet the perception that time flows is deeply embedded within our lives. As
humans we tend to organise our lives in accordance with time, around time or dependant
upon time. Our experience with the flow of time can vary enormously depending upon
the situation in which the time was spent. Certain events leave us feeling robbed of time,
that it was stolen from us in the blink of an eye, whilst other events make us feel that time
would never end.
The current COVID-19 pandemic has forced much of the world into varying stages of
“lockdown” causing us to experience time in a way which is different from the norm.
Victoria’s enforced “lockdowns” have played havoc with my own perception of time.
Some days whizz by hardly noticed and others drag out with no end in sight.
The variety in my life has largely disappeared and each day is a repeat of the previous
one. The monotony of lockdown is tiresome. Time has moved slowly. The experience felt
like a never ending surreal dream. Yet as I emerge, I feel that time has been stolen.
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