Nothing doesn’t exist. Nothing is impossible. The concept of nothing is so fraught with paradox and contradictions that it defeats definition. We are surrounded by loads of nothing although we cannot come to terms with the concept. We do nothing, know nothing, hear nothing, have nothing, mean nothing, think nothing. And yet, we can’t define it or describe it. Nothingness is all around us even though we don’t seem to notice or understand it.
Writing a book about nothing contradicts itself. How can one focus on nothing, research, describe and illustrate something that doesn’t exist. Wouldn't a blank page express the idea better than any written word? Wouldn't the book's nonexistence communicate the idea most effectively?
Every attempt to discover nothing reveals yet another ‘thing’ – something smaller than the smallest, microscopic, unnoticeable because of its size or (non)importance. Probably, there is no nothing! Probably, nothing is always something!
This book aims to explore the idea of nothingness and to reveal the nonexistence, triviality, nonentity and nonbeing of surrounding us objects and pointless actions we take everyday. Its purpose is to uncover the real thing in nothing and to transform nothing into something.
This book takes a human-centered approach to nothingology. It will examine the complex interaction between people and nothing. What people do when they do nothing? What they think about when they think about nothing? What they say and hear when they say and hear nothing? And finally, what does nothing do to people?
In my design authorship project I aim to take the concept of nothingness on the journey through people’s lives. I don’t intend to simply reproduce the words of philosophers, scientists, poets and other experts on nothingness. I wish to express the idea with the words of ordinary people and support it with their real life stories. My aim is to communicate the concept of nothingness through typography, illustration and conceptual publishing solutions. And since there is no beginning and the end to nothingness, my book will have no beginning and no end, no page numbers and no cover.
You can contribute to my research by completing an online questionnaire – the survey of nothing.
Project Workplan
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This is the best nothing ever.