Ants in the Machine

Collaborative live coding piece by Rita Bass, Ava Dinh-Vu, Vidya Rajan and Panda Wong

See it at Radical Computing, at the National Communication Museum

‘This piece is inspired by Tawny Ants, or as they’re known on the internet: the “crazy ants that destroy computer servers and are immune to insecticide”. In this audiovisual experiment, we largely followed the life cycle of these agents of collective chaos as they timorously sniff out electronics, euphorically (we can only selfishly presume) lay waste to the data and wiring, in apt flow hive-state synchronicity, and, in doing so, destroy the most formidable electronics, thus breaching the barrier of big tech’s impermeability. 

The artistic division saw Vidya and Panda work using Hydra for the visuals, and Ava and I on Strudel for the sound. Working with Strudel’s native sound wave and sample base, Ava and I explored the auditive nature of technology under attack including revealing the percussive rhythmmachine underneath white noise, tuning into the resonance of big, bass-heavy drone swells, the high-pitched murmurs of ants conversing, bleep countdowns to final destruction, and the remaining trickling hisses of electricity, igniting to spark before the resolute fade of silence.

Radical Computing runs from September 18, 2026 until February 21, 2027.