Haroon Mirza
Self Transforming EmDrive (Solar Powered LED Circuit Composition 34)
Artist
Haroon Mirza
(1977, London), British
Original Title
Self Transforming EmDrive (Solar Powered LED Circuit Composition 34)
Date2017
MediumAddressable LED’s, wire, copper tape, acrylic and optical lenses on photovoltaic panel
Classificationsmultimedia works
Credit LineKunsthalle Praha
DescriptionHaroon Mirza is internationally renowned for his computer-generated animations, multimedia installations, and audio compositions, which are based on an interaction of light, sound, and electric current. Mirza initially drew inspiration for his lumino-kinetic artworks (and related visual imagery) from chambre music and futurism as well as from artists such as Nam June Paik and John Cage. His work makes use of varied technologies. Mirza creates situations in which he experiments with the visual and sonic dimension of the artwork by creating electric-acoustic records. His pieces blend elements of noise, sound, and music, and the works themselves are based on a complex interrelation between their acoustic and visual dimensions. He works with objects which are charged with symbolic meaning in the cultures of their origin. He subsequently rids them of their original function and uses them as triggers for sound, generating sonic compositions with an added visual dimension. Mirza speaks of himself as a composer: he manipulates electricity—an intangible, invisible phenomenon—in order to set objects into movement and create sound. This sound subsequently fills the space, saturating it with a unique atmosphere. In his latest work, Mirza primarily focuses on questions of sustainability, vitality, and ecology in relation to humankind’s potential for survival. In this context, he thematizes conflicts between technological advancement, ecological survival, and the possibility of colonizing other planets.
This work titled Self-Transforming EmDrive (2017) is made up of optical lenses, linked by a wire, on a photovoltaic panel which generates a rhythmical loop of light. The whole process can be observed, allowing viewers to reflect on the creative process underlying the artwork while simultaneously experiencing a complex phenomenon via several senses.
Haroon Mirza (born 1977, London) is a British artists based in London. Mirza studied at the Winchester School of Art, and later at Goldsmiths College and the Chelsea College of Art and Design. His work has been showcased in solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Lisson Gallery in New York City (USA, 2022); the CCA Kitakyushu in Kitakyushu (Japan, 2020); the John Hansard Gallery in Southampton (UK, 2019); the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne (Australia, 2019); the Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing (China, 2019); the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham (UK, 2018); the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco (USA, 2018), and the Museum Tinguely v Basel (Switzerland, 2015). In 2011, he exhibited at the 54th Venice Biennale, where he received the Silver Lion award for promising young artists. Mirza’s work was displayed at the 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale (China, 2012). Mirza is also a laureate of the Northern Art Prize (UK, 2011), the Daiwa Foundation Art Prize (UK 2012), the Zurich Art Prize (Switzerland, 2013), the Nam June Paik Art Center Prize (Korea, 2014), the Calder Prize (France, 2015), and the Collide Residency Award (Switzerland, 2018), with the latter also granting him a two-month-long residency at CERN in Switzerland. In the spring of 2018, Mirza unveiled a large-scale outdoor sculpture titled Stone Circle, which is located in Texas, in the small town of Marfa, and will remain in the landscape for five years. In 2021, his installation The National Apavilion of Then and Now—created as an alternative to the national pavilions at the 54th Venice Biennale—was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
This work titled Self-Transforming EmDrive (2017) is made up of optical lenses, linked by a wire, on a photovoltaic panel which generates a rhythmical loop of light. The whole process can be observed, allowing viewers to reflect on the creative process underlying the artwork while simultaneously experiencing a complex phenomenon via several senses.
Haroon Mirza (born 1977, London) is a British artists based in London. Mirza studied at the Winchester School of Art, and later at Goldsmiths College and the Chelsea College of Art and Design. His work has been showcased in solo exhibitions at institutions such as the Lisson Gallery in New York City (USA, 2022); the CCA Kitakyushu in Kitakyushu (Japan, 2020); the John Hansard Gallery in Southampton (UK, 2019); the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne (Australia, 2019); the Sifang Art Museum in Nanjing (China, 2019); the Ikon Gallery in Birmingham (UK, 2018); the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco (USA, 2018), and the Museum Tinguely v Basel (Switzerland, 2015). In 2011, he exhibited at the 54th Venice Biennale, where he received the Silver Lion award for promising young artists. Mirza’s work was displayed at the 7th Shenzhen Sculpture Biennale (China, 2012). Mirza is also a laureate of the Northern Art Prize (UK, 2011), the Daiwa Foundation Art Prize (UK 2012), the Zurich Art Prize (Switzerland, 2013), the Nam June Paik Art Center Prize (Korea, 2014), the Calder Prize (France, 2015), and the Collide Residency Award (Switzerland, 2018), with the latter also granting him a two-month-long residency at CERN in Switzerland. In the spring of 2018, Mirza unveiled a large-scale outdoor sculpture titled Stone Circle, which is located in Texas, in the small town of Marfa, and will remain in the landscape for five years. In 2021, his installation The National Apavilion of Then and Now—created as an alternative to the national pavilions at the 54th Venice Biennale—was purchased by the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
