Martin Howse

British artist and researcher whose work investigates the relationship between geological matter, software, and the human psyche through performance, installation, and laboratory practice. Since the late 1990s he has constructed experimental situations — walks, workshops, live events — that expose the hidden physical substrates of computing. His Earthboot project boots computers using naturally occurring electrical signals drawn directly from soil. Other works include The Crystal World, Psychogeophysics, and the ERD modular synthesizer series. From 1998 to 2005 he directed ap, a software performance group that pioneered early digital glitch aesthetics.