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Wind of Linz: Data Paintings


Credit: Refik Anadol

Refik Anadol (TR)

Wind of Linz: Data Paintings is a site-specific work commissioned by Ars Electronica that turns the invisible patterns of wind in and around the city of Linz into a series of poetic data paintings within a 6ʹ x 12ʺ digital canvas.

Refik Anadol Studios developed a range of custom software using a one-year data set collected from Linz airport to read, analyze and visualize wind speed, direction and gust patterns along with time and temperature at ten-second intervals throughout the year.

The resulting artwork is a series of three dynamic chapters, each using data as a material to create a unique visual interpretation of the interaction between the environment and the city. Each chapter brings different aspects of the data sets to life with distinct and varied painterly, emotive aesthetics, making the invisible beauty of wind as a natural phenomenon visible.

Each of the three chapters focuses on one distinct characteristic of the wind of Linz. The first chapter, “Hidden Landscapes” highlights the anemometer’s most radical readings to create an immaterial, spatial experiences. “Porcelain Memories” recalls the intangible power of a gale when reimagined outside of the traditional constraints of time. “Fluid Structures” explores the paradox of a soft, gentle wind blowing from the Danube toward the site in the harsh cold of winter.

Credits

Refik Anadol studio members and collaborators: Raman K. Mustafa, Toby Heinemann, Nick Boss, Kian Khiaban, Ho Man Leung, Kerim Karaoglu, Bahadir Dagdelen, Yusuf Emre Kucur