“Wind of Los Angeles” by Refik Anadol Lights Up the Night at LUMINEX: Dialogues of Light

When NOW Art founder Carmen Zella first approached Refik Anadol about exhibiting at LUMINEX: Dialogues of Light, she only needed to say, “Our vision is to bring our community together after a tumultuous year in quarantine,” for him to get excited. In fact, Anadol, who created Wind of Los Angeles for LUMINEX, often engages closely with communities to inform his work. For example, in 2019, he created Machine Hallucination, an immersive, data-driven experience using images from public social media accounts of New York City residents.

For Wind of Los Angeles, Anadol decided to create a data sculpture that reflected Los Angeles. Specifically, he transformed the invisible patterns of wind across the city into poetic data sculptures. Then, he projected them, for one night only, onto the façade of the Desmond building in downtown LA.

To prepare for LUMINEX, Anadol used machine learning algorithms and custom software to read, analyze, and visualize a large dataset. In addition, he measured wind speed, direction, and gust patterns. He also included temperature, humidity, rainfall, and pressure data collected from Los Angeles International Airport.

Next, Anadol used this data as pigment to create a dynamic visual interpretation of the city’s environment. Consequently, Wind of Los Angeles connected memories of air travel with the continuous interactions of LA’s urban fabric. In this way, the piece offered public art in a deeply meaningful manner.

Finally, if you missed Wind of Los Angeles live, you can still experience it virtually. Moreover, Anadol’s work, along with other installations from the night, is available through the livestream [here].