John C Taylor

The Chronophage


Dragon Chronophage


The Dragon Chronophage is the third Chronophage. From the shimmering scales of the Dragon to the polished gold of the clock face, it is a stunning object and at three metres tall, it dominates any room in which it is displayed.

I was delighted to collaborate with Professor Long of China Academy of Art, Hangzhou, to ensure the authenticity of the Chinese dragon. Coincidentally, the word ‘Long’ means Dragon in Chinese.

The Dragon's head

The Dragon’s head

Not only is the Dragon Chronophage a piece of art and a design icon, it is also a pioneering piece of technology. It is incredibly popular because it interacts with its audience, most of whom posed for a selfie!

The Dragon was exhibited in China at Design Shanghai, where it wowed and entertained the audience.

I wanted the Dragon to engage and play with the spectators, as with the others, so the Dragon winks, swishes its tail, rolls out a pearl and ripples its spine. I stopped short of making it breathe fire – only for health and safety reasons.

The Dragon's scales

The Dragon’s scales

Below is a brochure about the Dragon Chronophage.

I was thrilled when the Isle of Man Post Office produced a wonderful set of postage stamps highlighting my life’s work and that one stamp shows both the Corpus Chronophage and the Dragon Chronophage.

Interesting Facts

Between 1912 and 1948, art competitions were a part of the Olympics. Medals were awarded for architecture, music, painting, and sculpture.

Latest News

A Manx Royal Tale

A MANX ROYAL TALE A personal message from Dr John C Taylor OBE I was very sad to learn of the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Lord of Mann. I had enjoyed the great honour of meeting Her Majesty twice. Strix Ltd is the Manx company I set up in 1981 to manufacture the domestic electric kettle controls that I invented. With encouragement from the Manx Government, the company slowly became established, supplying famous UK brand names such as Swan, Morphy Richards, Philips and Russell Hobbs; initially, with controls that switched the kettle off when the water boiled… read more

Interesting Quotes

To me, photography is an art of observation. It’s about finding something interesting in an ordinary place… I’ve found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.

Elliott Erwitt