Haseeb Ahmed | The Wind Egg Experiment: A Trilogy of Exhibitions

Wind tunnels first appeared in the early 20th century and can now be found all over the world. Their sole function is to make the wind blow straight, in order to study atmospheric effects in a controlled space. They play a critical role in testing our world. Since 1911 all wind tunnels are tuned to one another with the help of calibration objects, ensuring that an instrument is measuring the phenomena observed and not merely its own body. The Orrery features a selection of these, including the remote Scottish Askervein hill, the R15 airfoil, and nine cubes. These elements, which have been in use for over a century, are joined by Ahmed’s own calibration object. The artist chose to use another kind of globally calibrated object: a McDonald’s McDouble Cheeseburger. This was born from an interest in the universal experiences that industrial production and the labs from which they originate engender.

While looking at turbulence patterns, Ahmed discovered that wind 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.