Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin’s first manned trip to space, in an age when space tourism has become a reality, what does the future hold for our new born? A first shaft of light, a splinter of an image, first movements and a sense of independence. Zero is a lyrical view, playing on the metaphor of weightlessness, mobility, existentialism and consciousness. At what point are we aware of our own bodies, what is private and where does the external world begin?
Recorded by Mike Stubbs, who was part of a team of artists and scientists invited by The Arts Catalyst to participate in a parabolic flight at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre, Star City, Moscow, in 2000. The text comprises writings by Net Robot, Netochka Nezvanova and poet Kevin Henderson.
Read by Yuri Gagarin and Kevin Henderson
Construction: Gina Czarnecki
Sound Design: Gerald Maire
Commissioned by PVA MediaLab and Watershed Media Centre with Arts Catalyst and the support of TVI, Duncan of Jordonstone College of Art. Parabolic flight and trip to Russia supported by London Arts Board.