Haseeb Ahmed

Before modern science unveiled the mysteries of reproduction, cultures from the cradle of civilisation believed in the power of the wind to fertilize humans and animals alike. From Greece to China to the Arabic world, the life-giving power of the wind was part of long-held belief systems. As the subject of his doctorate thesis and a trilogy of exhibitions at the Von Karman institute of Fluid Dynamics, M HKA, and Harlan Levey Projects, Haseeb Ahmed investigates the possibility of fertilizing a vulture egg with the wind. With the success of this experiment, the artist arrives at the conclusion that the wind is male, with potential anthropomorphic qualities. He also concludes that this technology could be then applied to humans, freeing us from traditional relationships between men and women.

While looking at turbulence patterns, Ahmed discovered that these vortexes create a face-like form - the face of the wind. Strangely enough, this face also echoes ancient architectural decorations. If the wind is, indeed, inhabited, what kind of being is there? Ahmed uses technology to create a Wind Avatar, who represents all of the world’s winds. By shifting angles of a delta wing in a specially designed wind tunnel, we are able to change the facial expressions of the being, similar to those of humans. By connecting this tunnel to data from weather stations around the world, we can monitor the emotions of the wind, and perhaps even communicate with it. Going one step further, the artist has connected this technology to EEG monitors developed with the Brain and Emotion Laboratory and the University of Maastricht, which allows this avatar to express the emotions of those wearing the monitor, allowing them to inhabit the wind - linking neuroscience and fluid dynamics.