In early November, artist Helmut Smits launched his latest project: Screen Time – and no, that’s not your next app to track the time you spend in front of your display.

 

 

Helmut describes the project as a community clock. Participants are invited to take part by making a screenshot of their mobile device lock screen and submitting it to the allocated time slot on the projects website.

 

 

The result is an online clock that displays another screen every minute. This way users get a glimpse into someone else’s life. And the screen backrounds are diverse: from best friends to lovers, from cute pets to picturesque wildlife, from funny snaps to artsy photographs.

 

 

The idea behind it is to bring strangers a little bit closer and to connect them through their screens. By looking through the screenshots you might also realize how intimate the look on a personalized background can be.

 

 

Helmut Smits is a multidisciplinary visual artist based in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Straightforward, critical and witty, Smits is a ceaseless producer of ideas that comment on society and situations in a frank and often humorous way.

 

 

Do you want to be part of Screen Time? Then upload your screenshot here.