Ways of Transparency
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Ways of Transparency •
The idea was to find a non-binary system that formulates its computation in a way we can perceive but not necessarily understand. One of the interesting examples James Bridle mentions in his book "Ways of Being" is the Slime Mold. Countless studies have been conducted on this organism, but its workings are still not fully understood. It was used to design the Tokyo subway system and to solve difficult theoretical computer science problems like the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP). And it did so to some extent. The TSP is a problem where computation time grows exponentially with the number of travel points. In computer science, almost every problem can be converted into a graph problem. This suggests that the Slime Mold could potentially solve other problems, possibly more efficiently. These problems are abstractions of our world and of how a computer operates. These graphs, as computations go, are not visible to us; they are just concepts put into data formats and software. Of course they can be visualized through software.
Slime Molds do not only "compute" but also visualize the algorithm itself through reality and not the imaginary. They create graphs. Graphs are an important tool in computer science. But the Mold's graphs are no abstraction — they are the Mold, and the Mold is there. The graph of the theoretical problem, which is carved into software, exists in its organic form in a way. Through this transfer of software becoming real, they break the abstraction. We can see through the complexity. Wendy Hui Kyong Chun writes in her text "On Software, or the Persistence of Visual Knowledge" about the loss of knowledge, about how the computer provides more and more information and therefore "transparency," and paradoxically, we know less and less about what is happening inside the machine. Software and programming languages are becoming more abstract and easier to use. This loss of transparency is the subject of this artwork. Lost through abstraction. This breaking through also challenges ideology as software can be seen as.
Through this visibility, a new kind of user is introduced—users who recognize their own limitations in understanding and power, and who are more accepting of the complexity of computation. The installation creates this user through interaction over a command line. The artwork shows time-lapse clips of the Slime Mold growing over circuit boards, raising awareness of the underlying hardware. These create new kinds of "technical images" as defined by Vilém Flusser. We can use them to make sense of the process of the system. This contributes to the awareness of the lack of knowledge and the idea of taking software for granted.
The interaction starts with the showing of a hand and the making of a fist. Afterwards, a command line appears, printing a simple "Hello Culture!" — a reference to the simple introduction in every programming language. Next the the simplicity of the print() the user made is questioned and the command is deconstructed in its machine language. The whole sequence ends with a movie scene of Mold and nature.
The Slime Mold takes the user on a journey, and in the process of becoming real, the Mold's visual representation becomes de-virtualized, manifesting more and more. Ultimately, it leads into the image of nature where it belongs, creating a play between culture and nature. As Wendy Chun described, software is a commonsense shorthand for culture and hardware for nature.
The installation is connected to a DSLR camera with a macro lens showing the Mold in high detail, giving the feeling of being an essential part of the installation. It invites interaction and exploration with the user, working together to create awareness of the existence of non-binary computational systems.