Haseeb Ahmed
b. 1985, USA
Lives and works between Brussels and Zurich
Anemphilous: Lovers of the Wind Scroll, 2024
Ahmed’s multidisciplinary approach continues to bridge the worlds of art and science, engaging with themes of climate change, human intervention, and the power of natural forces. His practice challenges traditional boundaries, offering new ways of thinking about our relationship with the world’s most elemental forces.
Haseeb Ahmed is a research-based artist who blends scientific methodologies with artistic practice to explore what he calls “techno-poetics.” His interdisciplinary practice encompasses a wide range of mediums, including site-specific objects, installations, films, and drawings. For over a decade, Ahmed’s work has centered around the fluid dynamics of wind and water, exploring their natural phenomena and the cultural meanings attached to them throughout history. His work blends art, aeronautics, technology, and mythology to create speculative narratives that investigate the contemporary implications of these natural forces within an ever-changing environment.
Ahmed’s practice is grounded in research, often involving collaboration with scientists and experts from diverse fields. His experimental and speculative approach allows him to explore the intersection of the natural world with cultural narratives, asking how these forces have shaped our understanding of both the physical and the symbolic. His work invites viewers to consider the scientific and philosophical implications of fluid dynamics, creating spaces where art and science come together to prompt reflection on the world around us.
Ahmed holds a Master’s in Visual Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he specialized in sculpture and architecture. As a researcher at the Jan van Eyck Academy, he received the Designers and Artists 4 Genomics Award for The Fishbone Chapel and initiated Has the World Already Been Made?—a project exhibited internationally, including at the Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art. His ambitious trilogy of exhibitions around Wind Egg culminated in a solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MHKA) in Antwerp, curated by Nav Haq. This exhibition also marked the completion of his practice-based PhD in art at the University of Antwerp.
In 2024, Ahmed was commissioned to create Stock Weather III, a large-scale installation for the 15th Gwangju Biennale. His work has been presented at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum Bärengasse in Zurich, De Appel in Amsterdam, and ArtLab EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. Recent exhibitions include the FRONT Triennial in Cleveland, Digital Art Festival Taipei, KIKK Festival in Namur, LINK Fest in Oviedo, and BOZAR in Brussels.
Ahmed’s practice is grounded in research, often involving collaboration with scientists and experts from diverse fields. His experimental and speculative approach allows him to explore the intersection of the natural world with cultural narratives, asking how these forces have shaped our understanding of both the physical and the symbolic. His work invites viewers to consider the scientific and philosophical implications of fluid dynamics, creating spaces where art and science come together to prompt reflection on the world around us.
Ahmed holds a Master’s in Visual Studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where he specialized in sculpture and architecture. As a researcher at the Jan van Eyck Academy, he received the Designers and Artists 4 Genomics Award for The Fishbone Chapel and initiated Has the World Already Been Made?—a project exhibited internationally, including at the Göteborg International Biennial for Contemporary Art. His ambitious trilogy of exhibitions around Wind Egg culminated in a solo show at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MHKA) in Antwerp, curated by Nav Haq. This exhibition also marked the completion of his practice-based PhD in art at the University of Antwerp.
In 2024, Ahmed was commissioned to create Stock Weather III, a large-scale installation for the 15th Gwangju Biennale. His work has been presented at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Museum Bärengasse in Zurich, De Appel in Amsterdam, and ArtLab EPFL in Lausanne, Switzerland. Recent exhibitions include the FRONT Triennial in Cleveland, Digital Art Festival Taipei, KIKK Festival in Namur, LINK Fest in Oviedo, and BOZAR in Brussels.
Artworks
Sand Reckoner
film 1 hour 38 minutes
film 1 hour 38 minutes
A Fountain of Eternal Youth II, 2023
Library of the Winds, 2023
Wind Egg Scroll, 2017
Selected Exhibitions
The Library of the Winds
14 Jan - 25 Mar 2023
Brussels, Belgium
Brussels, Belgium
Monoculture
Sep 2020 – Apr 2021
MuHKA, Antwerp, Belgium
MuHKA, Antwerp, Belgium
The Cosmologists Desk
Oct 22 - Jan 16, 2021
Leuven, Belgium
Leuven, Belgium
Nature of Robotics: An expanded field
Dec 11 – May 16, 2021
EPFL Pavilions, Switzerland
EPFL Pavilions, Switzerland
Press
Selected Projects
Ruach not Rauch
May 25 – Jun 9, 2019
Werkleitz Festival, Dessau, Germany
Site-specific installation connecting two Bauhaus-era ruins—Junkers’ wind tunnel and the Mausoleum of the Dukes of Anhalt—through a single air circulation system.
The title contrasts Ruach (Hebrew for divine breath) with Rauch (German for smoke), evoking the fragile boundary between creation and devastation.
May 25 – Jun 9, 2019
Werkleitz Festival, Dessau, Germany
Site-specific installation connecting two Bauhaus-era ruins—Junkers’ wind tunnel and the Mausoleum of the Dukes of Anhalt—through a single air circulation system.
The title contrasts Ruach (Hebrew for divine breath) with Rauch (German for smoke), evoking the fragile boundary between creation and devastation.