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Mark Lumsden: Pop-Up Data Centre

A project for the analysis of personal artifacts and social objects in a shifting data centered world. UoR MA Fine Art final show proposal.

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<< back | MERL: Air Conditioning

The MERL invites MA Fine Art students to show work annually. I submitted three pieces of work:

MERL: Closing Down Poster
MERL: Animal Feed
MERL: Air Conditioning Unit

I have created 3 pages to describe each one. Of which, this is the third. The text below is from the proposal which was sent to the MERL staff in early 2026.

Jan 2026

Energy, the Environment: Battery Powered Air-Conditioner.

What is it? A fully charged LiFePO4 (Lithium Iron Phosphate) battery (like those which can be used in solar panel systems), and a small fan being powered from the battery.

This portable 'air-conditioning' system could be temporarily placed alongside the other exhibits in the museum/gallery space to provide renewable 'air conditioning'.

Due to the size of battery and small power draw of the fan, the fan could be powered for many days/weeks/months.

How much time would pass until the battery ran out of energy? How long can we keep on using fossil fuels?

Unfortunately the type of battery shown above was rejected by the museum as being a potential health and safety risk. I then proposed using a different type of battery pack, like the one below:

This type of battery was acceptable to the musuem, however after some discussion I felt the type of battery compromised the message so I had a rethink about what could power the fan. I then realised probably every visitor to the museum carries a battery with them in their mobile phone, which, if the type of connecter to the phone was USB C, would be able to power the small fan:

The museum allowed using the batteries from visitors mobile phones to power a small fan. Below are photos from the installation in the MERL MA gallery space (1st floor). Details of the piece are:

Title: Mobile Phone Charged Airflow Machine for Museums
Medium: Portable Black Fan and USB type-C cable.
Date: 2026

Accompanying text: The air in the MERL is constantly monitored/analysed and conditioned to protect the exhibits. This is a costly process. You can help by powering a fan using your phone’s battery.

USB powered fan with cable in MERL gallery. 2026

Talking to visitors about the USB powered fan in MERL gallery. 8th June 2026

A future project could be to join the power of mulitple phones together to power a larger fan (or other device)...