The Stack, a Clay sculpture that writes poems through Wi-Fi [video]

Hi HN,

I made The Stack, a sculpture built from clay tablets, metal and electronics.

The piece reflects on layers of knowledge in digital art: raw materials, craft, circuits, code, and algorithms. On top of the sculpture sits an ESP32 that broadcasts a new Wi-Fi network name every 15 seconds. On nearby phones and laptops, these names appear in the available network list and form a fragmented poem.

Because devices scan networks differently, each person sees a slightly different sequence.

I was interested in the contrast between clay, one of the oldest supports for storing knowledge, and wireless networks, which are invisible, unstable and easy to overlook. The work is also a reflection on the idea of the stack: the many layers of tools, systems and inherited techniques involved in making digital work.