TEMPLE GARDEN.

— Prototype developed in residency at HYPERSPACE in LUODONG TAIWAN.

This installation explores water as a resource consumed by technological systems. Today, water is increasingly treated as infrastructure. It is diverted into industrial processes, cooling systems, and semiconductor fabrication plants that support the rapid expansion of AI technologies. The work asks a simple question: what does AI actually consume in order to exist?

At the centre of the installation is a silver water tower reimagined as a technological temple. Its surface is inscribed with streams of binary code, transforming digital language into a form of sacred writing. Around it, the gallery becomes a network of interconnected systems. Hand-drawn maps, diagrams, and fragments of computer code cover the walls, tracing invisible relationships between water, computation, extraction, and power.

Across the floor, cables and circular circuit boards spread outwards like roots, veins, or river systems. Sand formations, incense, live data projections, and electronic components create an environment that sits somewhere between a shrine and a control room.

The work is also a reflection on the ideology of endless technological growth. AI is often presented as immaterial and limitless, yet it relies on enormous amounts of energy, water, and physical infrastructure. A single silicon wafer can require thousands of litres of water to produce. The installation draws attention to these hidden material costs and asks what happens when ecological systems are reorganised to sustain technological expansion.

Ultimately, the work asks what future we are building.water as a material that now sustains artificial intelligence, semiconductor production, and data.

CREDIT: ARTWORK BY STANZA

EXHIBITION PROTOTYPE VERSION 1. This was made in Surfyspace Luodong in Taiwan while I was artist in residency. Thanks to the Hyperwave team.  

MATERIAL : Silver water tower size 100cm by 155cm. Two projectors and two  PCs to plug in. ( for data artwork THREE JS )  One apple mac mac to run software and speakers for MAX exe. 100 old motherboards  or  old pcb or similar. Incense sticks. Small glass petri dishes like those used in science. Grey wrap material from the building centre.

VERSION 2 Funding needed,

1. Custom electronics system: computer parts, 40 custom made LEDS, 3 RAS PI, 20 custom made motors, 3 ethernet cables, 2 power adapters, 10 custom made fans,  3 custom power supplies, 3 custom made PCB boards, 15 laser lights,

2. 3d printed figures. 

3. L-wire systems. 

4. Custom sound system speakers. 

5. Motorised system for water automation.

Keywords. CITY, DATA, REAL TIME, GENERATIVE, ART,WATER

NOTES

https://velocity.stanza.co.uk/machinecities/MC4/ ( and mc5) customsied for TAIWAN.