Null Object: Gustav Metzger thinks about nothing

Null Object: Gustav Metzger thinks about nothing (2012) links neurophysiology, psychophysics and manufacturing technology to produce a sculptural object in Portland stone. Using bespoke software, London Fieldworks produced 3D shape information from EEG recordings of Gustav Metzger attempting to think about nothing. This data was translated into instructions for a manufacturing robot, which carved out the shapes from the interior of a block of stone to create a void space.

LFW produced a book of the same name with Black Dog Publishing, including an introduction by the artists, a text by Gustav Metzger and four contextualising essays by Bronac Ferran, Hari Kunzru, Nick Lambert and Christopher Tyler. These leading writers across the fields of literature, art, science and technology explore the diverse historical and conceptual grounding for and broader implications of Null Object’s production process. Made with the participation of Gustav Metzger; software designed by Jonny Bradley; CAD/CAM by Yaroslav Tenzer.

Images below from The Negligent Eye, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, (2014), curated by Jo Stockham, photography by Jon Barraclough; To The Edge of Time, KU Leuven, (2022),  curated by Prof. Dr. Thomas Hertog and Hannah Redler Hawes, photography by Dirk Pauwels. All other images courtesy London Fieldworks.

This project was supported by funding from Arts Council England & The Computer Arts Society.