Zeno Reaches Zero

Creator:

Critchley, David

Contributor(s):

  • Nick at Battersea Arts Centre

  • This work is part of the rewind archive.

    Duration: 4mins 54secs

    Year: 1975

    Original formats:

    1/2 inch EIAJ reel-to-reel, high density

    Type of work:

    Single Screen B&W

    Funding source: Self/State

    First exhibited: 1976 Battersea Arts Centre, London

    Further Known Screenings:
    2B Butlers Wharf

    “‘Zeno Reaches Zero’ This was the first single monitor piece I made which could only have been realised on video. It was based on a conundrum – that of Zeno’s paradox, where the number zero can never be reached by halving any number repeatedly, ad infinitum. However, this was over- ridden by being expressed through recording and re-recording a series of countdowns starting at 256. A second countdown was recorded from screen and a new ‘counting head’ appears at 128, then a third layer recorded with a new head coming in at 64, a fourth at 32, and so on through 16, 8, 4, 2, 1 and inevitably, 0, at which point the piece ends.” David Critchley

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© REWIND | Artists' video.