SLC-S31/W4 – Creative Interpretation | The Object – “A Broken Clock”

How are you all? I hope you are well. Today I will share something with you about “A Broken Clock”. To be honest, at first, this topic seemed very simple. I was thinking, a broken clock, what else is there in it! But when I thought about it for a while, I realised that this small thing has a very deep feeling hidden inside it. Something that we see every day but do not really feel. So let’s get started.

A few days ago, I was just cleaning my house. Nothing special, really, a normal kind of day. I wasn’t even thinking much, just doing my work slowly. Then suddenly I looked at the wall. There was an old clock hanging there. I’ve seen it many times before, so it was not new to me. But that day… I don’t know why… it felt a bit different.

The clock was stopped. The hands were not moving. It was showing 4:17. I just stood there for a moment. Not really thinking about anything clearly. Just looking. And strangely, I felt something inside me. I can’t even explain it properly. It was like that time was not just a time anymore. It felt more like a paused moment in life. Like something got stuck there and didn’t move forward.

Maybe I’m overthinking… but it really felt like that clock was not just broken. It was kind of silent, like it had its own story. And somehow, I felt connected to it without knowing why.

We usually think that time always moves forward. The hands of the clock keep turning. But this broken clock seems to have broken that rule. It reminded me—not everything moves forward all the time. Some things stop. And those stopped places are the ones that stay inside us the most.

What does the broken clock symbolise in your work?

To me, this broken clock is a symbol of stopped time. But not only time, but it is also a symbol of stopped feelings. There are many moments in our lives that we cannot forget. Maybe a time of hardship, maybe a wrong decision, or something that we could not fix. We move forward, but those moments are stuck somewhere inside us.

This clock reminds me of that feeling. Everything is normal from the outside, but somewhere inside, time has stopped. Sometimes it seems that we all hide such broken clocks inside ourselves, little by little.

Is it a story of loss, hope, regret, or second chances?

This story is not really about just one feeling. There is a loss here, because we lose a lot of things that can never be regained. There is regret here, because we think—“If only I had done it differently!”, “If only I had a little more time!” This regret is very silent, but deep.

However, there is also hope in this story. Because even a broken clock shows the right time twice a day. This little thing made me think a little differently. It felt like—maybe everything is not over. Maybe there is still a chance to fix something.

Most of all, I would call it a story of second chances. Because many times in life we think everything is over, but in fact, maybe there is a chance to start anew. If we want, we can move forward anew. Maybe it will not be the same as before, but it is still possible to create something new.

What lesson does your interpretation carry?

This broken clock taught me a very important lesson. Time should never be taken lightly. We often think, “I will do it later”, “There is time, “Not now, later”, but in fact, time does not wait for us. Once time passes, it never comes back.

Another lesson I feel from this is… being broken doesn’t really mean everything is finished. In life, we break down sometimes. We get disappointed, we lose motivation, and at that moment, it feels like nothing will work anymore.

Everything just feels stuck. But maybe… just maybe… that broken place is not the end. Something new can actually start from there. It might be slow, it might feel a bit uncomfortable, but still… we somehow stand up again. Little by little.

That day, I remember I was just looking at that clock and thinking—Should I fix it? I don’t know why that thought came. Then another thought came too… maybe it’s not just about fixing the clock. Maybe it’s also about something inside me.

Because sometimes, when we try to fix something broken outside, we don’t notice… but something inside us also starts to feel a bit better. Not fully healed… but at least a small step.

And finally, I don’t think everyone will see it the same way. Some people will just say, " It’s a broken clock, nothing special. And maybe they are right in their own way.

But for me… It’s not just an object. It feels more like a reminder. A kind of silent lesson sitting on the wall. It makes me pause for a moment. Think a little. And remind myself… time is still going, even if something in life feels stopped. And maybe… I can start again. Even now.

This broken clock has no end for me... This is a silent, slowly beginning new story.