KUNSTLICHT | CALL FOR PAPERS “SŪNYA: STARTING FROM 0” | LAUNCH “SPELLBOUND” ONLINE

In October 2021, the new art and science space of the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, WONDER, will present an exhibition dedicated to zero in dialogue with art, science, technology, and philosophy. The exhibition aims to open a discussion on zero from different perspectives. Therefore, in this upcoming issue of Kunstlicht, you are invited to contribute to this discussion by investigating how zero can be an inspired concept to several disciplines intertwined.

Zero has also been explored in arts, such as the avant-garde Zero Group, founded in 1957 by Heinz Mack and Otto Piene. The group named itself Zero because the term indicates “a zone of silence and of pure possibilities for a new beginning.” The group experimented with the expressive possibilities of new materials made accessible by mass consumption, such as aluminium. For instance, in the sculpture Light Reliefs (1958), Mack imprinted geometric patterns in relief on aluminium foils, emphasising the movement created by the reflection of light on its surface. Furthermore, the group organised pop-up exhibitions, events and performances that expanded internationally, axial to both art movements and individuals.

[removed] & Dmitry Gelfand, ER=EPR, 2017, installation view Courtesy of the artists.

More recently, artists have been inspired by the number zero indirectly, in their interest in quantum physics and digital technologies. For instance, the artists Dmitry Gelfand and Evelina Domnitch make installations investigating perceptions and perpetuity. In their installation ER=EPR (2017), the artists recreate two black holes through a laser projection that expands two water rotating vortices into projected shimmering halos. Through the collaboration with physicists, the artists make artworks that question recent scientific discoveries.