Zero Casciato

Minute In My Mind is an interdisciplinary piece, combining both digital and physical media. The piece is meant to represent inside the mind of someone with OCD, particularly my mind. OCD is an extremely misrepresented mental illness in media, often the term OCD is used synonymously with “clean” or “tidy” when the reality is extremely different. This type of media representation was part of the reason I didn’t know I was suffering with OCD, which in turn led to years of terrifying intrusive thoughts and pesky compulsions. The horror movie visuals are meant to represent intrusive thoughts, which are often violent and scary, while the nature visuals are meant to represent the relief of compulsions. The piece begins with the horror visuals, in order to change them the viewer must press ‘1’ on the keypad, however they only change as long as you hold on. When you let go, the monitors will go back to displaying the horror visuals. This represents the endless cycle of OCD. The audio of the piece during the horror visuals is meant to further immerse you in the though process of someone with OCD. Praying, counting and reassuring oneself are very common mental compulsions found in OCD. The loose wires around the boxes are meant to represent the parralles between technology and the brain. It is also my take on the idiom “must have a wire loose” which is often used to describe a mentally ill individual. The structures on the boxes are my interpretation of neurones, brain cells, which I made out of scrap wires. It was important for me to have a scientific aspect as understanding my illness at a scientific level was imperative to my recover.

Zero is a multidisciplinary non-binary artist from Toronto, Ontario. Their work focuses on themes of mental health, family, identity, and imagination. Zero practices both digital and physical mediums and enjoys merging the two together.