Beyond the Zero Point

Beyond the Zero Point is the first in a series of works exploring the convergence of offline and online presence. The work takes as a starting-point a theory originally developed by Gustav Fechner, the father of psychophysics, to describe what happens to the energy of human life after death. Inspired by Fechner’s theory of the afterlife, Beyond the Zero Point sets out to depict the merging of the space of tactile reality with the space of virtual reality.

The law of conservation of energy states that energy never springs into existence or ceases to exist, but simply changes form. Fechner used this law as a proof for the concept of life after death. The human body is powered by electricity and at the moment of death that electricity does not disappear but rather transforms itself into a different form of energy. According to Fechner, this energy goes on to exist in a different realm of reality, a realm beyond human sensory thresholds and therefore imperceptible to us.

Drawing inspiration from Fechner’s theory, Beyond the Zero Point frames the transition of human life from the offline social sphere into the online social sphere. In a time when the boundaries between our offline and online presence are becoming confused, these works set out to explore the consequences of such blurring of realities.

A fountain filled with photoluminescent liquid will be installed at the Bunker; the sound of the fountain will then be manipulated in real time and played back in the space through a four channel system. At the same time a 3D model of the fountain will be streaming online at mariosathanasiou.com. The sound of the water from the fountain at the Bunker will affect the water ripples of the online fountain thus creating a bridge between the offline and online space.

The event and the online streaming will take place between 6pm and 10pm UK time.


Marios Athanasiou (born Athens, 1980) currently lives and works in London. He completed an MA in Studio Composition at Goldsmiths College in 2011 and a BA (Hons) Film and Music at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, in 2004. Athanasiou’s work explores human perception of reality through sound and vision and how digital technology can be used to manipulate and distort that reality. His work has been shown locally and internationally, and he has taken part in group exhibitions and festivals including Gone with the Wind and Resonance Open (Raven Row Gallery, London), the PNEM Sound Art festival in Uden, Netherlands, Poltergeist (Fort Gallery, London), and the Beginning Of The End Simultan Festival in Timisoara, Romania.