M3MP%L is a series of text based audiovisual compositions that explore the possibilities of computational space through the tools of code, artificial languages, and raw terminal aesthetics. As the computer console is a low-level ontological tool for interfacing the real world with computational landscapes, these series resemble the performative mechanics of such gateways. Given that digital information doesn't inherently exist in a physical space, one can use any structural framework to illustrate the relationships between files, folders, thoughts and other conceptual entities. Thus, the interface becomes a mental blueprint, where each character defines an imaginary position in space. The title refers to a data structure called mempool (short for memory pool) which is a temporary holding area for transactions that have been broadcast to a blockchain network but have not yet been confirmed and added to a block.
Artificial memory architectures often grapple with the dichotomy between associative and spatial memory paradigms. While spatial memory frameworks prioritize the organization of information in physical or abstract spatial arrangements, reflecting the human brain's propensity for spatial cognition, associative memory models prioritize the interconnectedness of information, emphasizing the strength of relationships between data points. M3MP%L takes an attempt to represent some of these dichotomies. Although the compositions shown are made of text-based characters and operator symbols from low-level terminal user interfaces, their structures escape verbal determinations and function as an absorption surface for conventional formulae. Without relying on language, form becomes the defining element, a gesture that shapes hybrid ontologies of existential space.
The installation runs as a standalone environment using three screens, where the sounds and the displayed graphics are generated in realtime, displaying historical information on the Ethereum Mempool, using real data scraped from the network. These details indicate different aspects of the pending transactions over the blockchain. The middle screen displays a constantly moving map-like architecture, displaying the block info of different transactions that were sent to the mempool. The right-hand screen shows a tree-like structure along with the gas fees required to validate the transactions when they were added to the blockchain. The screen on the left shows details about how long a transaction stayed in the mempool, presented in a self-updating, terminal-style file browser interface. The artwork is built using modern web technologies, with a fully responsive layout. It can be configured to run on three separate screens arranged as a triptych, or on a single screen in either landscape or portrait mode, using the appropriate URL parameters.
