Wind Avatar
By Haseeb Ahmed | Professional (International category)
“I use technology in my work in order to de-mystify it. My work stages technology in order critique the expectations we have on technology and science as being the sole prime mover in society. For me Technology and the 4th Industrial revolution are means of wish fulfilment, which many of us paradoxically experience as having a will of its own.”
~ Haseeb Ahmed
Vortex-Faced Being represents the world’s winds. It is encountered in a specially designed wind tunnel, which visualises the turbulence pattern that trails a delta wing model. This turbulence pattern is the face of the wind. Smoke and a laser sheet allow for this otherwise invisible phenomenon to be seen. Changing the angle of the delta wing renders different recognisable facial expressions. This wind tunnel features a programmable robotic gimbal that adjusts the position of the delta wing. The gimbal responds to incoming data in real time.
Location
ADM Gallery 2
About the Artist
Haseeb Ahmed (USA b.1985) is a research-based artist and resides in Brussels. He produces objects, site-specific installations, films, and writes for various publications. Often working collaboratively Haseeb integrates methodologies from the hard sciences into his art production. In particular, he works with the wind and sometimes against it. His long-term collaboration with von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (VKI) in Brussels yielded The Wind Egg Trilogy. The project blends art and aeronautics, myth and technology, to create new narratives for the present. It was exhibited at the VKI, Harlan Levey Projects who represents him, and the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp. He has taught at the Zurich University of the Arts, Royal Academy of the Art in The Hague, and Sint Lucas Antwerp School of Art and Design. Ahmed received his PhD in practice-based art at the University of Antwerp and Saint Lucas Antwerp School of Art and his Masters from the MIT Program in Art, Culture and Technology. He has a Bachelor of Fine Arts at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Ahmed has been a resident at La Becque Foundation, the Jan van Eyck Academie in Maastricht. and the Skowhegan School among others. His work has exhibited internationally including the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. The Gothenburg International Biennial of Contemporary Art, and De Appel in Amsterdam.