How to read the painting "The End Of The Internet (which end)" by Rachel Megawhat

This painting is a complex , allegorical work that visually maps the history and potential future of global communication. The canvas can be read as a cyclical narrative, beginning in the bottom right hand corner and circling clockwise, beginning with the first terrestrial creature and the dawn of telecommunications, and progressing through the physical components of the internet, its societal effects, and its potential apocalyptic endpoint. The central image of a gnarled tree-like structure serves as a metaphorical "tree of knowledge" or "tree of life" for the digital world, its roots grounded in the physical infrastructure of the past and its branches bearing the "fruits" of modern technology, both beneficial and destructive. The artist's intent is to present a continuous, almost overwhelming flow of information and technology, ultimately questioning its trajectory.

The composition is non-linear and dense, eschewing traditional perspective for a layered, symbolic

landscape. The central, organic form of the tree dominates the canvas, acting as a spine that organizes the

various disparate elements.

The 'start' of the painting is a depiction of Tetrapod the first terrestrial creature who made his first

footsteps on land on the Island of Valentia, the very same island later used as the launch site for the first

undersea telecommunications cable which crossed the Atlantic from Valentia to Heart's Content,

Newfoundland (dates 1858 first attempt to 1866 first success) It would be another 100 years before

communication satellites launched and by 1966 the transatlantic cable company closed.

The painting goes on to depict some of the raw materials of physical computing. Niobium, phosphorus,

tatalium, Lead, copper, hafnium,gold, mercury, neodymium,ruthenium,niobium,gallium, beryllium,

arsenic, boron, nano crystals of tetracyanoquiodimethane, alongside a deep mine and a depiction of deep-

space.

The lower left of the painting depicts the early computer the difference engine, ancient sacred geometry

and a crashed spaceX satellite amongst circuit boards “I see satan fall like lightning”

There is a circular construction of screens depicting various scenes including Punch and Judy puppets

(depicting political discourse) The mushroom cloud of nuclear explosion. One screen shows the cover of

the first magazine of the Bulletin of the Atomic scientist 1947 depicting the doomsday clock.

Above these screens is a view of a data center, banks of machines in the distance a small cloud scene, to

the left of this a huge engine, these showing the dense physical reality of what is marketed as 'cloud

computing'

Above this a world map is shown with all the undersea cables that now encircle the globe and above that a

'tower of babel' of obsolete technology hardware discarded.

The central circle of the painting loosely bound to the roots of a 'tree of knowledge'

depicts in panels the idea of the actual internet,

One panel shows cross sections of the cables that still transmit almost all web traffic.

Above that an abstract fleshy painting alludes to the cultural shifts in human sexuality , pornography and

online dating having been huge drivers in the widespread adoption of technology.

The panels on the right hand side of the circles abstract the military and magical nature of technology,

there are traces of source code among other things.

Circling round there is a depiction of the Antikythera mechanism a reference to the lost knowledge of

earlier civilizations.

On the outside of the central globe the tree bears some fruit – the indisputable wealth of the web- hidden

amongst the branches the darkfi logo referencing those who see the web as a “operating system for

society”

Under these branches is a depiction of Biosphere 2 – the Arizona project which attempted to create a

hermetically sealed survival environment on earth ( earth itself being biosphere1) Notably this project did

not succeed and so suggests plans to colonize Mars, the Moon and other space locations are wishful

thinking a long long way from fruition.

To the far right of the painting are three globe maps depicted surrounded by satellites. The first from the

70s the central one from the present day (painted in 2023) and the bottom one depicting the planned future

satellite coverage of spaceX and competitors.

To the right of this satellites are depicted above characters form space invader computer games – the

inevitable satellite space wars approaching. The depiction of the garden of Eden reminds us that all this technical hardware has been a quest for knowledge , the bitten apple looming large.

Below this a big bang , perhaps a suggestion of AI future, Tempus Erit is written on the ribbon like root of the tree with a scythe cutting close by. The suggestion of a perilous future hinted at yet the symbols of magic and dna coding leading full circle back to primordial waters suggests an everlasting life. The very fact of the existence of such a painting with it’s artistic roots in historical paintings implies the artist envisages a future in which such a canvas would outlive them and so at heart it is a work of hope.