Every Clock is a Handgun Pointed at my Head (Imagery)
Every Clock is a Handgun Pointed at my Head by Johnny Profane (Knapp) Âû
Content Warning: This multimedia piece discusses time anxiety, sensory overwhelm, and stress responses in autistic individuals. Contains metaphorical references to weapons and descriptions of intense anxiety. Includes detailed examination of autistic stress responses, time perception difficulties, and executive function challenges.
Editor’s Note: Underlined content is hyperlinked (each underlined element is a clickable link), leading to further aspects of the content shared, here. (This convention is consistent, throughout Wordgathering.) “Every Clock is a Handgun Pointed at my Head” is best accessed using a desktop computer.
This page contains images from a spoken word video published in this issue accompanied by image descriptions of stills and animated sequences appearing in the video.
Eight still images
“Every Clock” Manga: Comic-style illustration depicting the autistic experience of time. Six panels in stark black, white, and gray with splashes of yellow and red. Title “EVERY CLOCK” at top left. Panel 1: Silhouette of a person facing multiple clocks. Panel 2: Close-up of a hand pointing a gun at a clock face. Panel 3: Digital clock showing “09” in red. Panel 4: Person with wide, stressed eyes surrounded by clock faces. Panel 5: Sound effect “BLAM!” with person’s face recoiling. Panel 6: Large clock tower looming over a small figure. The composition creates a sense of urgency, stress, and being overwhelmed by time. Stark contrasts and dynamic angles heighten the emotional impact, reflecting the often intense and fragmented perception of time experienced by many autistic individuals. The gun imagery suggests the violent pressure of time constraints in a neurotypical world.“TV’s Crazy-Making Static.” Five linked panels show a girl in a black pinafore dress among vintage TVs and scattered papers. In noir manga style with stark black/white contrast. Shows multiple views – closeups of static-filled screens, wide shots of a cluttered room. Pink/purple light filters through curtains. The overwhelming environment and looming TVs reflect autism’s complex relationship with time and pressure. Art evokes psychological horror.Titled “Every Clock Is a Handgun Pointed at My Head,” this surreal portrait features a distorted face made of gears, clock parts, & objects against an abstracted background of clocks, gears, & shapes. The face has an intense, staring eye, with gears, clock hands, gun parts, & tank treads swirling around the head, adding a sense of violence and threat. Floating clocks display various times, surrounded by scattered mechanical pieces. The muted sepia color scheme includes pops of red & blue. The Cyber-Dada style combines Dadaist absurdism & social commentary with a dystopian, futuristic aesthetic using gears, clocks, & weaponry. The piece expresses the autistic experience of time… as society measures it… fragmented, overwhelming, threatening compared to neurotypical perception. The consuming clocks, gears, and gun parts represent time’s psychological strain and disorientation for the autistic mind, creating a thought-provoking surrealist portrait capturing a unique interiority.“Heinlein Invents the Countdown” Retro-style illustration depicting a 1950s sci-fi scene, featuring Robert A. Heinlein, renowned science fiction author who famously invented the NASA countdown for the film “Destination Moon.” In the foreground, Heinlein stands prominently in a white lab coat, his stern expression conveying the gravity of space exploration. Behind him, a desert landscape stretches out, dominated by a large orange rocket on a launch pad, possibly awaiting Heinlein’s iconic countdown. Another figure in a lab coat observes the rocket. The dramatic sky shows a white spacecraft in flight among swirling clouds, symbolizing the realization of Heinlein’s visionary ideas. The color palette uses muted tones with pops of orange, creating a vintage futuristic atmosphere that captures the technological aspirations and imagination of the early space age.“The Dark Urgency of Now” A black plastic device with a red LED display reading “09:27.8” sits on a wooden surface. The device has a prominent red button labeled “NOW!” Sharp macro photography emphasizes textures and shadows. The stark contrast between the urgent red elements and dark casing captures time’s demanding presence in autistic experience. Photo-realistic style creates uncomfortable immediacy.Stylized illustration of a revolver being held, pointing directly at the viewer. The gun and hand are rendered in bold strokes of red and black, creating a stark, high-contrast image. Drips and splatters of red paint suggest blood, adding a visceral element to the artwork. The composition is dramatic, with the gun barrel dominating the foreground. The art style blends realism with expressive, almost abstract elements, emphasizing the emotional impact over strict realism. The limited color palette of red, black, and white intensifies the sense of threat and urgency. This image powerfully relates to the theme of how autists experience time, as expressed in “Every Clock is a Handgun Pointed at My Head.” It visually represents the intense, often overwhelming pressure of time and societal expectations that many autistic individuals feel. The gun serves as a metaphor for the constant, looming threat of time, deadlines, and the demand to conform to neurotypical time perception.“Waitress of Time” A bearded grad student with glasses sits at a table in a dimly lit pizza joint, arms crossed, looking frustrated or defiant. On the table are papers, a pen, a green bottle, and a partially visible clock face. The background shows empty chairs and tables. Various time-related objects are scattered throughout: clocks on the walls, including one replacing a server’s face in the background. A sign reading “TODAY’S SPECIAL” is visible. Hidden in the shadows are additional clocks, an hourglass, and what appears to be a chain, possibly symbolizing the feeling of being trapped by time. The overall atmosphere is tense and surreal, emphasizing themes of time pressure and writer’s block in a cluttered, time-obsessed environment.A mechanical heart-shaped sculpture against dark background, constructed from clock parts, wires, and gears. The device blends warm golds and coppers with patches of electric blue. A single bright turquoise eye and several clock faces are embedded in its weathered surface. Dripping wires create a melting effect. Mixed-media steampunk style suggests time’s emotional impact on autistic perception.
Four Animated Sequences
Four descriptions of animated sequences.
“Doors of Time” [approximately 1:27 in sequence]
Digital illustration animated sequence, “Doors of Time.” A series showing a dramatic door transition in monochromatic amber tones. The sequence begins with closed double doors exploding open in a burst of light and debris. A silhouetted figure appears in the brilliant doorway, then steps back as the doors slowly close. The radiating light creates a starburst effect. Hand-drawn comic art style emphasizes the force and impact. The cycle of opening/closing mirrors time’s relentless march in autistic experience.
“Forest” [approximately 1:35 in sequence]
A camera slowly zooms into a forest glade scene in psychedelic hues of intense purples, blues, pinks, and greens. Leaf, tree bark, and grass detail in maze-like patterns.
“Raptor” [approximately 1:45 in sequence]
A drone camera follows several hawks flying over geometrically laid out farmland leading into a closeup of a bright sun disc in the clouds. In psychedelic hues of intense purples, blues, pinks, and greens.
“When the Sun Rises” [approximately 2:02 in sequence]
A multi-colored sunrise is shown in a slow-paced sequence featuring a wide variety of brightly colored moving clouds. (This sequence is followed by a moment of animated black-and-white / grayscale television static.)
Back to Top of Page | Back to Art | Back to Volume 18, Issue 2 – Winter 2024-2025
About the Artist
Johnny Profane (Knapp) Âû is an artist and writer who focuses on expressing the unique perspectives of neurodivergent individuals. Their work often delves into themes of time perception and the psychological impacts of societal norms on autistic minds. Johnny’s blog and podcast have social followings of approximately 20,000 on subStack, X, and so forth.
