Rechnender Raum

The inverted machine, Rechnender Raum (Calculating Space), is a lightweight sculpture, made of sticks, strings and plumbs. But it is also a fully functional, logic exact, neural network, which computes the basic Boolean functions of NOT/AND/OR. Through its strict geometric and filigree construction, the observer is able to track its logic processing from any angle. In contrast to a normal layout, with an external user interface and the logic elements hidden within, this calculator is turned inside out. The core of the machine, with all its computing elements, is at the surface, while the ‘display’ indicating the results is at the centre of the system. As such, no matter how carefully one studies the interaction of the elements, with their steady, reassuring buzz, it is not possible to follow or understand the conditions the machine is working with; it is both completely transparent and yet strictly self-referential, as if it has a secret all of its own.