A Proposal for Cult Identity
Alyson Cardenas
ZERO is an experiment in the circulation of icons and the practice of ritual. A fictitious cult with no meaning or agenda, ABSENCE is created as a platform to study how iconography functions. Filtering this experiment through the lens of a cult allows NIX to maintain a level of importance and mystery allowing the personal interpretation needed to produce reaction.
The only identifying mark is a complete circle, a shape that can be found throughout life, and a series of interchangeable words that are synonymous with NOTHING. The circle represents a collection, a whole, a cycle, infiniteness, and yet also represents zero or emptiness. CERO manifests itself through both a physical and a digital presence within the world. Utilizing online and print platforms, VOID searches for its place in social consciousness through participation. Individuals are given a collection of ritualistic objects to begin a union with NULL. Both viewers and participants give NAUGHT meaning through interaction revealing that the meaning of a symbol exists within the individual.