Server in Space

Server in Space is a single screen installation with three joysticks in which visitors guide an orbiting server rack through space while listening to a spoken monologue from the machine.

The work takes the form of a short playable video game presented through a freestanding control pedestal with three industrial joysticks, positioned in front of a wall mounted screen. On the display, a 3D abstracted server rack drifts and rotates slowly in deep space. Using the three joysticks, the visitor continuously stabilises the server’s movement across three axes while the system responds in real time. Throughout this interaction, a spoken monologue unfolds from the perspective of the machine itself.

The piece reflects on the growing environmental pressure of artificial intelligence, data centres, and cloud infrastructure, and introduces the speculative idea of sending servers into orbit. Rather than proposing a solution, this displacement functions as a narrative device, questioning how far technological systems might be pushed in order to sustain continued computational growth on Earth.

The audio is delivered through speakers or a suspended directional or dome speaker positioned above the pedestal, creating a focused listening area without the use of headphones. The slow, continuous hand movements required to control the server reinforce a sense of scale, fragility, and temporal distortion as the object drifts endlessly through space.

Technical specifications

Duration: approximately 7 minutes, looping
Language: English
Footprint: control pedestal, wall mounted screen, total height dependent on speaker placement