Die Wanduhr=Schlange. Ein Zohohrn Stund lang 1916

Adolf Wölfli crafted "Die Wanduhr=Schlange. Ein Zohohrn Stund lang" using mixed media on paper, an artwork that bursts with obsessive detail and symbolic intensity. The composition is dominated by a spiraling vortex, pulling the eye inward through layers of intricate patterns and motifs. Wölfli employs a dense, all-over design, blurring the distinction between figure and ground. This relentless repetition of forms challenges traditional perspective, suggesting an alternative spatial logic. The inclusion of text, musical notation, and hallucinatory imagery invites a semiotic reading. We can decode the visual elements as signs reflecting Wölfli’s personal mythology and worldview, reflecting the profound impact of his mental state on his artistic output. The snake-like form, implied in the title, winds through the composition, perhaps symbolizing the passage of time or cycles of transformation. The overall effect is not merely decorative, but rather a complex system of signs and symbols which encourages us to question fixed notions of reality, order, and meaning.