“Internet Machine” is a multi-screen film about the invisible infrastructures of the internet. The film reveals the hidden materiality of our data by exploring some of the machines through which ‘the cloud’ is transmitted and transformed. Timo Arnall, the film’s director, believes it’s important to explore and critically evaluate these massive, energy-hungry infrastructures that are affecting the planet.
“Internet Machine” takes viewers on a journey through a large data centre comprising 6,000 servers, which together use as much power as 30,000 people. The film showcases the scale, complexity, and physicality of these systems. It also highlights the vast amounts of energy required to maintain the data centre, raising questions about sustainability.
Arnall’s film is part of Big Bang Data, an exhibition exploring the phenomenon of the data explosion we’re currently living through. The exhibition is a critical exploration of data world, showing the broad cultural, political and social impacts of data today. It seeks to promote a better understanding of the data infrastructure that plays a significant role in our lives.
The film and exhibition are part of a larger conversation about the materiality of the ‘cloud’, and the resources required to maintain it. It’s a conversation that challenges the invisibility and intangibility of the ‘cloud’, and prompts a critical discussion about the internet’s physical and environmental footprint.
Go to source article: http://www.elasticspace.com/2014/05/internet-machine