Cache Machine

2026 Systems & Structures Award Finalist

Jul 24

Ben Shirken

Artwork Description:

Cache Machine was mounted as an exhibition in New York City-based gallery KAJE. Taking shape as a multimedia installation, the project is an ongoing interface for investigating the onslaught of transient digital material amassing in contemporary life. The acceleration of industrial 'intelligence' is leaving an immaterial debris field in its wake. In digital form we call it 'slop,' but its material detritus is mostly nameless. It is felt in the bodies that live in the shadow of data centers. The machines are always on. Cache Machine replicates this resonant hum, rendering the latent forces of 'thinking' machines visceral and somatic. The installation centers on a machine running a local image generation model in an endless loop. Images of technological detritus accumulate in a digital cache and are projected onto the rear windows of two Ford Escape hatchbacks, their wipers sweeping and lights flickering with each new generation. A wall-mounted truck dashcam displays pre-recorded accident footage processed through aesthetically exaggerated video prompting in real time. Five overlapping sound sources fill the space. Among them is a 62-channel wavefield synthesis array, a dense speaker system that places AI-generated data center fan sounds at precise locations. Electromagnetic Field (EMF) microphones placed on the main GPUs, a hard drive, and a fan unit capture the computation itself. Cache Machine provides access to experiencing the (often restricted) territories of the “thinking” machines, hurling sonic psyops and spiking electrical strain in its wake. It turns the lifecycle of AI-generated media into a durational, embodied experience.