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Berlin-based artist Niklas Roy has built the ‘Glashütte Trash Clock’, a working pendulum clock assembled entirely from scavenged local materials including tape, zip ties, cardboard, and a paperclip escapement. Created during a residency in the German watchmaking town of Glashütte, the piece deliberately contrasts with the town’s reputation for precision horology and runs for about half an hour at a time.
Berlin-based artist and inventor Niklas Roy has constructed a working pendulum clock made entirely of trash, using only materials he scrounged up locally — including tape, zip ties, hot glue, cardboard, a yardstick, and a paperclip. The piece, called the “Glashütte Trash Clock”, was built during a residency this year in Glashütte, the Saxony town that is the birthplace of Germany’s renowned watchmaking industry, and was reported by the art publication Colossal in September 2026.
The clock’s most consequential components are improvised from household waste. According to Roy, it features a paperclip-escapement — the small mechanism in pendulum clocks that releases a gear as it moves, advancing the hands — and a glass bottle gong, the acoustic element that chimes the time. The materials list also included pieces of plastic and, in the artist’s words, “other random objects” gathered locally in Glashütte.
The timepiece is functional but deliberately limited: it runs for about half an hour before winding down, Roy said. Beyond basic timekeeping, the clock includes what the artist calls a “random complication”, which answers the fundamental question “Now or Never?” — a reference to games and chance rather than to traditional watchmaking complications like chronographs or moon phases.
Roy framed the project as an intentional inversion of his surroundings. “Glashütte is synonymous with precision and centuries-old watchmaking craft, and I wanted to make the opposite,” he said in a statement reported by Colossal. A video documenting the clock in operation has been published online, and additional work by Roy is available on his Instagram account.
A Reversal of German Watchmaking Prestige
The project matters because of where it was made. Glashütte is home to Germany’s most prestigious watch manufacturers, and its name carries associations of precision engineering and centuries of horological craft. By building a clock from tape, zip ties, and a paperclip in that specific location, Roy sets the crudest possible timekeeping against the most refined, prompting viewers to consider what precision is actually for.
The work also engages with the tradition of the artistic contraption. Roy’s practice — spanning robotics and gaming systems — uses handmade mechanics to investigate the relationship between creativity, science, and technology, often with a lighthearted twist that invites critical thinking and participation. The trash clock extends that approach to one of the most fundamental technologies humans have developed: telling time. Its random complication adds an existential, chance-driven element to a device we normally trust for its predictability, generating what Colossal described as “a playful tension and a sense of wonder.”
Roy’s Practice and the Residency Setting
Niklas Roy is a Berlin-based artist and inventor whose sculptures and installations frequently merge art and technology. His past work includes robotics projects and gaming systems, and his mechanical contraptions are characteristically quirky, inviting viewers to think critically about how machines and creativity interact rather than simply observing them.
The “Glashütte Trash Clock” emerged from a residency the artist undertook in Glashütte, Saxony, in 2026. The town is widely known as the birthplace of Germany’s watchmaking industry, a heritage that directly informed the concept of the piece. Roy has documented the finished clock in a video shared publicly, and Colossal’s report directs readers to his Instagram for more of his work.
“Glashütte is synonymous with precision and centuries-old watchmaking craft, and I wanted to make the opposite.”
— Niklas Roy, artist
Accuracy and Display Details Unconfirmed
Several practical details about the clock are not documented in the available reporting. It is unclear how accurate the clock actually is over its roughly half-hour run, or how far it drifts from real time. The location and dates of any public exhibition of the piece have not been announced, and it is not stated whether the clock will be preserved, reassembled, or dismantled after the residency. The specific residency program in Glashütte that hosted Roy is also not identified in the report.
Where the Trash Clock Goes From Here
Roy is likely to continue documenting and sharing the project through his Instagram account and video channels, where his earlier kinetic and robotic works are presented. Readers interested in the piece can watch the published video of the clock running. Whether the trash clock travels to a gallery, becomes part of a larger installation, or inspires follow-up work built on scavenged mechanics has not been announced.
Key Questions
What is the Glashütte Trash Clock made of?
According to Niklas Roy, the clock was built only from materials he could scrounge up locally in Glashütte, including tape, zip ties, hot glue, cardboard, a yardstick, pieces of plastic, a paperclip, a glass bottle, and other random objects.
Does the clock actually work?
Yes. Colossal reports that the pendulum clock is functional, though limited: Roy says it runs for about half an hour. Its escapement — the mechanism that advances the hands — is made from a paperclip, and it chimes using a glass bottle gong.
What is the clock’s ‘random complication’?
It is not a traditional watchmaking complication. It is a chance-based feature that answers the question “Now or Never?”, borrowing from games of chance to add an unpredictable, existential element to an otherwise steady timekeeping device.
Why was it built in Glashütte?
Roy participated in an artist residency in Glashütte, the Saxony town considered the birthplace of German watchmaking. He said he wanted to make the opposite of the precision and centuries-old craft the town is famous for.
Where can the clock be seen?
A video of the clock in operation has been published online, and more of Roy’s work is available on his Instagram. Any physical exhibition details have not been announced.
Source: rss
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