(2026) Speculative Artifact / Interactive bio-sculpture.
Mushrooms, digital waste, custom code.
Data Compost transforms invisible network activity into biological matter. Conceived as a living peripheral to a domestic network, the installation captures digital waste in the form of blocked advertising and surveillance requests and converts it into the conditions for growing life.
At the centre of the work is a bioreactor containing a colony of mushrooms. A network-wide ad-blocking system (Pi-hole) monitors requests generated by devices connected to the network. Each blocked tracker is treated as a small amount of recovered energy. Rather than allowing unwanted data to be transmitted, the installation calculates the energy saved and deposits it into a virtual energy bank.
This virtual energy is then used to operate the physical systems that sustain the mushrooms, including ventilation, humidity and light. The installation therefore establishes a circular relationship between the digital and the biological. The more digital waste the network produces and blocks, the more resources become available to support the growth of another living system.
Data Compost proposes a speculative form of digital metabolism. Surveillance becomes nourishment, network activity becomes energy, and digital waste becomes biological growth.
How It Works
Harvesting Digital Waste: The system monitors the home network using a tool called Pi-hole, which actively intercepts and blocks outbound requests to known advertising and tracking servers.
Creating “Virtual Energy”: By blocking these trackers, the system prevents unwanted data from being downloaded to the network. It calculates the physical energy saved by preventing this data from being transmitted and processed, estimating a recovery of approximately 0.00156 Wh per blocked request. This saved energy is then deposited into a “virtual energy bank.”
Powering Life Support: The physical bioreactor is a clear cylinder housing a terracotta vessel for the mushrooms. It is equipped with an exhaust fan, a humidifier and LED lights. These life-support systems are powered by the “virtual energy” recovered from the blocked data.
The Mushrooms: Pink Oyster(Pleurotus djamor) and Ganoderma(Reishi)
Exhibitions:
