"Sketches for an earth computer" (2014) presents a series of living "laboratory" studies alongside photographic documentation of various attempts to implement a literal, artistic investigation of the links between the earth, code and the human psyche of the viewer.

The earth computer proposes the bootstrapping of a long-term, visible computational device self-constructed solely from the earth, and embedded within the earth as a critical monument to human technology.

The total environment (geophysical, biological, electro-chemical) itself encodes and manipulates active, new computational-crystalline structures which compute, impact on and re-code this environment within a complex feedback system.

The living "lab" studies consist of a series of containers which explore within an intentionally restricted, demarcated environment the various coded and energetic transformations which the earth computer enacts. These containers are open to, and influenced by local environmental and electromagnetic changes; these changes visibly re-code the enclosed substrates.

With thanks to Daniel Belasco Rogers for casting help and all at RIXC, Rhizope and Neue Heimat!

About the artist:

Martin Howse’s (UK/DE) work spans the fields of computing programming, writing, education and performance. A true explorer of urban scapes, his ideas consider our intimate and embodied relationship with our environment. His work has been received several awards (including first prize at Art & Artificial Life competition VIDA 8.0, 2005) and he has curated and participated in several seminars and performances (ICA, London, Transmediale, Berlin, Tuned City, Berlin & Brussels). In 2006 Martin co-founded xxxxx, organising one large-scale conference and concert series in London (xxxxx) and publishing the acclaimed xxxxx [reader]. From 2007 to 2009 he has hosted a regular workshop, micro-residency and salon series in Berlin, most recently under the banner of _____-micro-research. More recently micro-research has been established as a mobile platform for psychogeophysical research with ongoing projects in London, Peenemuende, Lyme Regis and Berlin. For the last ten years he has collaborated on numerous open-laboratory style projects and performed, published, lectured and exhibited worldwide.