Computations

"Computations speculates a future when computation moves from the opaque ‘black boxes’ of our laptops and devices out into the world. In the film, Zhestkov boldly envisions these decentralized machines as lush dynamic systems, which he compellingly describes as “floating networks of small transistors—some kind of a strange computing organism.”

The complex systems at the heart of Computations sway and undulate in perfect synchronization. Comprised of billions of particles, they are more than the sum of their parts—they are thinking machines that visualize, calculate, and communicate through coordinated movement and colored illumination. Evoking both supercomputers and synaptic structures, the shapeshifting forms are serene and enigmatic. Performing in space, they demonstrate how each tiny element contributes to the construction of an elegant, emergent whole. Particles rise and fall, clusters lock into place, and there is an underlying sense of order governing the ornate spatial choreography.

Graceful and rhythmic in their movement, the systems capture a convergence of biological and technological systems. Spread across the space, all the elements are senders and receivers at the same time, self-sufficient yet astoundingly potent when connected with its counterparts. Sensitive to external impact, they detect every change in their surroundings and analyze them on the spot, transforming humanity's relationship with the information and asserting the computing structures as an independent agent in the environments shared with humans.

The forms are artfully embedded in the architecture—the structures are not simply contained within the spaces, they are merged with the surroundings and continuously interact with them. The artist imagines this link as the transition from static buildings and infrastructure to the ever-changing and adapting systems that account for altering needs of their inhabitants. Revealing only the inside of these constructions, Zhestkov leaves the viewer a space for fantasizing about how the entire world existing in a paradigm of total connectivity might look.