Cloud computing and servers have revolutionised digital technology, providing remotely accessible processing power and storage on-demand. While the cloud may seem immaterial and distant, it demands huge energy resources that are generated by extracting and consuming fossil fuels, metals, and water.  The environmental impact of the cloud and information technology is further caused by the production, distribution and discarding of technological devices. The cloud is therefore ‘matter’, and it also matters greatly when considering its environmental impact and by extension, its humanitarian impact.  

Over 40 artists and poets from South Africa and abroad responded to the call for artworks and poems that reflect on the environmental impact of cloud computing and information technological industries.  The artists’ submissions were printed and installed in glass bottles on the banks of the Vaal River, in the garden of the Riverside Sun Hotel, the venue of the Digital Humanities conference that was presented in November 2022.  Here they became messages in bottles or time capsules, prompting conference delegates to consider the technological tools of their trade in larger context.

The exhibition opening on 2 November was preceded by a hybrid panel discussion on the exhibition theme.  Panellists David Macleod, principal engineer at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), and Susanne Karcher, founding member of the African Circular Economy Network, shared their insights on topics ranging from the carbon footprint of data centres and streaming to e-waste management in Africa. The session included a screening of Francois Knoetze’s short film Core Dump – Shenzhen (2018), which reimagines African spirit figures to comment on consumerism, materialism and the extractive practices that serve global computing industries and markets.

Exhibition curated by Nokukhanya S Khumalo, Liam Rothballer and Annemi Conradie-Chetty.