ZERO Is The Light

ZERO announces a new beginning. In my belief, this new start gets created by oneself. In this world we're living in, we are distracted by outside impulses: our need for belonging, our wish to be seen, our hope to be successful. But where do we actually want to belong? By whom do we really want to be seen? And what does success truly mean for us? ZERO is the starting point for a new way of thinking, of finding what truly matters. Because it starts with you, your essence, your being. ZERO is you. An unmanifest silent space inside of you filled with pure possibilities. Therefore ZERO is not judging, it is positive, immensely optimistic. Its fuel is curiosity, the curiosity to create.

What inspired me to found Zero Senses is that you cannot find purity on the surface of anything. You have to see beyond the obvious to find ZERO. The art movement I am referring to experimented with new forms of expression after the Second World War. ZERO SENSES translates this into business reality, offers a path to find your ZERO, and empowers you to use it as a basis on which to live your true self.

In the aftermath of the Second World War, a small group of German artists aimed to break away from the reigning post-war pessimism and artistic conventions. In the early 1960s, the founders of the ZERO art movement (Heinz Mack, Otto Piene, and Günther Uecker) decided to return to the origin of creation, to ZERO. The artists let go of a damaged universe with optimistic resignation. It wasn’t the fake hurrah-optimism of today’s performance-society (Leistungsgesellschaft): they had to give a new meaning to their lives embracing nothingness because the very meaning of human existence had seemingly vanished.

Obtaining a clean slate of purity meant forgetting the past, thus freeing the future from its burden. ZERO artists jettisoned dusty dogmas and the stifling conditions of expectations. For others, emptiness might have been fearfully paralyzing. For them, it meant unprecedented depth and endless possibilities. First, they questioned the very basis of art by emptying the canvas. Then they questioned the canvas too. When almost nothing remained, they stripped down art to its essence: light, space, materials, and shapes. Instead of brushes, the artists took nails or alternators, scribbled on metal wires, explored the infinite meanings of a single color, or flapped aluminium blades in the light.

ZERO artists distinguished their style by focusing their creative energy in a single means of expression. Günther Uecker introduced a new layer of vision by using a hammer and nails instead of paint and brush, opening up an unusual entry point for the observer. Otto Piene expressed depth with lights and fire. Creators who joined the movement later further enlarged its repertoire. Lucio Fontana directly broke through the canvas by cutting or hammering holes in it, shattering the seemingly suffocating two-dimensionality. Yves Klein showed that even a single color (monochrome), his famous ultramarine blue, condensed endless layers of depth.

“Before you can express yourself, you need to assert yourself”, said Günther Uecker. Knowing who you are and what truly matters to you comes first. Challenging expectations and societal conventions only follows. ZERO artists courageously abandoned dogma and expectations without compromise in order to create space for the purest, deepest, and most authentic form of art: expressing the true self.

Modern life has inundated us with constant noise, endless opportunities, and lingering uncertainty. Stress stems from our own expectations, fuelled by the exterior: we relentlessly crave recognition, title, money, and status. We nurture an ardent desire to belong, to be visible, and to be successful. However, we rarely question the very mindset of constant performance. Where do we actually want to belong? Who shall see us? What does success mean at all?

Tanja Schug, the founder of Zero Senses felt that we need a similarly profound and purifying change in business life. Inspired by the art of letting go, she helps natural leaders reach their personal point ZERO in a safe environment. She has understood that curated stimuli of the senses (like seeing, smelling, and tasting) sharpens the awareness of feelings. Connecting ZERO with Senses, Tanja invites you to embark on the journey of discovering, embracing, and gradually realizing your true self through cultivated intuition and ultimately more clarity in any decision.

The emptiness of point ZERO is the silence before the creation of the universe. The first step is to leave the crowd and courageously retreat from the minutiae of daily life. Like Günther Uecker’s hammer that struck nails through the canvas, one by one, the impulses of Zero Senses gradually increase your sensory awareness.While Lucio Fontana defied the two-dimensionality of the flat canvas by breaking through it, Zero Senses helps you gently transcend the surface of your everyday routine to finally see your life as it is, and make decisions with the clarity of a higher context.

The resulting balance between your rational and creative sides will restore your trust in your own intuition. Clarity is the foundation of a profound transformation. The fog of everyday routine will slowly dissipate, revealing the old patterns and habits which are invisibly intertwined with all aspects of your life. However, cultivating clarity requires tremendous effort and commitment. As Otto Piene saw it, “darkness has the potential to become light”. Just like light and shadow, struggle and joy belong together, stemming from and feeding on each other.

The journey starts with you, your essence, your being. You will not only understand, you will start to see. Similarly to ZERO artists, by connecting previously unforeseen dots, you will be able to transmit your true self into your reality.