4 Bit Playground

4 Bit Playground - Pather and Johnston

19th, 20th & 21st February - 5:30pm - 9:30pm
Location - Cornhill Market - What Three Words: ///foam.expect.stem

4 Bit Playground is an interactive artwork made up of small moving cubes that behave like playful creatures. They react to people nearby and to each other, creating a lively and unpredictable space.

Each cube has its own simple “personality,” which affects how it moves and responds. Using sensors and microphones, the cubes notice sound and movement around them and change their behaviour in real time. Although they all follow the same basic rules, small differences between them mean they act in surprising ways when they come together.

As audiences move through the space, their presence influences how the cubes behave, and patterns begin to emerge between human actions and the cubes’ responses.

The installation invites people to think about how we relate to technology, how we often treat machines as if they have feelings, and how simple rules can lead to complex behaviour — in machines, and in ourselves.

About the artist(s)

Pather and Johnston, part of Technologica Collective, are an artistic duo exploring human-machine collaboration. Their work examines the behaviours and relationships formed between machines and the people who interact with them. Together, they create interactive artworks that investigate how interfaces shape and alter reality, as well as the dynamic between hardware and software, focusing on systems and control.

A recurring theme in their work is the friction between human intention and mechanical resistance. They have recently been examining how the relationship between hardware and software, as well as the expectations we place on them, can be used to evoke different emotions in humans.

Through mechanical and gamified systems, their practice explores the social implications and the collaborative nature of digital spaces. Drawing from speculative fiction and posthuman theory, their work reflects on how emerging technologies reinforce or disrupt existing power dynamics.

Access information

The installation is accessible, but requires some degree of physical interaction.

The artists have designed the work to be highly interactive and sound input-focused, allowing people with different abilities to engage fully.

Sustainability information

The installation build is designed to reuse and recycle parts for future projects. All projects are designed to be moveable by train or public transport. This approach reduces environmental impact and supports touring of work.