Locust Projects presents Wind and Breath, a multimedia installation by artist Wendy Wischer, developed in collaboration with musician and computer scientist Dr. Bill Manaris and a team of students from the Computing in the Arts program at the College of Charleston. 

Wind and Breath explores the invisible yet powerful force of wind as a metaphor for the interconnectedness of all living things. This immersive installation invites participants to use their smartphones to interact with real-time wind data from cities around the world. By scanning a QR code, visitors can manipulate wind speed, direction, and temperature through a custom interface, generating abstract visual and sonic forms displayed on large, curved screens. The soundscapes and visuals change dynamically as audience members collaborate in shaping the environment.

The installation includes three soft, sculptural clouds that function as seating, allowing participants to move freely within the space, deepening their sensory experience of wind as a shared and unifying element. Through this collective engagement, Wind and Breath highlights how the same wind cycles through our bodies as breath, emphasizing the universal forces that connect us to each other and to the environment.

Wind and Breath is supported by the Knight Foundation’s Digital Commissions initiative, which fosters artistic exploration at the intersection of art and technology.

About Wendy Wischer

Wendy Wischer is an interdisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of environmental issues and human experience. Born in Wisconsin, Wischer received her BFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1993 and an MFA from Florida State University in 1995. She is currently based in central Connecticut, where she continues to develop projects that blend natural elements with cutting-edge technology. Her practice spans various media, including sculpture, installation, video, sound, projection, and public art, and often draws on collaborations with scientists, engineers, and other experts.

Wischer has been the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Pollock-Krasner Grant, the South Florida Cultural Consortium Fellowship, and the Florida Individual Artist Fellowship. In addition to these accolades, she was awarded the Utah Division of Arts & Museums Visual Arts Fellowship and has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Puffin Foundation.

Wischer’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in venues such as the Pérez Art Museum Miami, the Boca Raton Museum of Art, the Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, and the Colorado State Art Collection. Notable public art installations include Currents at Miami’s Pérez Art Museum and Watering the Imaginary at the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis. Her public works often serve as lasting testaments to her commitment to environmental advocacy, seamlessly integrating art with nature. Her projects have garnered extensive recognition for their innovative fusion of environmental and technological elements, including features in Artforum, Sculpture, Hyperallergic, and The New York Times.

About Dr. Bill Manaris

Dr. Bill Manaris is a renowned musician, computer scientist, and algorithmic artist whose work exists at the intersection of creativity and technology. Manaris currently serves as a Professor of Computer Science and the Director of the Computing in the Arts (CITA) program at the College of Charleston in South Carolina. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science and Music from the University of New Orleans and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Manaris also studied classical and jazz guitar, blending his technical expertise with a deep understanding of musical composition and theory.

Dr. Manaris is known for his pioneering work in computer music, artificial intelligence, and human-computer interaction, areas in which he has published extensively. His research explores aesthetics, creativity, and interactivity in music and art, often through the use of algorithms and stochastic processes. His compositions and interactive installations have been exhibited in galleries and festivals worldwide, showcasing the innovative use of artificial intelligence to generate intricate auditory and visual experiences.

Dr. Manaris has received numerous grants and fellowships in support of his work, including funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Google, IBM, and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation. His projects often focus on how technology can enhance the creative process, offering new avenues for artistic expression. Notably, Manaris co-authored the textbook Making Music with Computers: Creative Programming in Python (2011), which has been adopted by universities across the globe for courses in computer music and creative computing.

His notable interactive installations include NexuSonic, an interactive soundscape that employs sensors and data from the natural environment to generate dynamic musical compositions, and Echoes of Silence, which explores the relationship between human interaction and real-time sound generation. These works have been presented at prominent venues such as the International Conference on Computer Music, the ACM Multimedia Conference, and the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) conference.

Dr. Manaris has also held artist residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity in Canada and the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Digital Media Program. His contributions to the field of algorithmic art have earned him invitations to present at conferences and symposia around the world, where he continues to push the boundaries of how technology and art intersect.

Dr. Manaris remains committed to fostering interdisciplinary collaborations between art, science, and technology. As a professor and mentor, he has guided numerous students in projects that integrate computing and the arts, nurturing the next generation of creative technologists. His work, both as a researcher and artist, highlights the potential of artificial intelligence and computing as tools for human expression and interaction, contributing to a rapidly evolving dialogue between technology and the arts.