Draw with the World’s Wind: Artist Jitish Kallat makes the invisible visible
For years, within the quiet sanctuary of his Mumbai studio, one of India’s leading contemporary artists, Jitish Kallat has practiced a private ritual. It begins with the Hilbert Curve — a mathematical marvel of a fractal line that twists and turns until it occupies every corner of its space. But for Kallat, the drawing is only the beginning. By igniting the line outdoors, he invites the world in. As the flames dance, directed by the unpredictable shifts of the local winds, they leave behind a scorched “transcript” — a physical record of a silent conversation between wind and fire
Today, in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture, as part of our long running program to support artists’ experimentation with technology, Jitish Kallat invites you inside his Mumbai studio with Wind Study, a new interactive drawing experience. Reimagining Kallat’s Wind Study in a virtual environment, it invites you to draw with real-time atmospheric data, generating dynamic, ever-evolving digital wind studies.
From ritual to code
In the studio, the dialogue with wind is limited to the winds of Mumbai. This collaboration translates the conversation between wind and fire by transforming real time atmospheric data from across the globe into a vast art palette. What was once a physical mark on paper is now a digital trace shaped by real-time atmospheric data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).
A planetary expedition: witnessing the invisible
The experience invites you to step into the role of both artist and observer:
- Select a coordinate: Rotate the globe to any point on Earth
- Ignite the trajectory: Move a digital matchstick along the Hilbert Curve to ignite the canvas.
- Observe the wind: Watch virtual flames lean and flicker in response to real-time wind speed and direction.
- Save your unique Wind Study: Your unique artwork shaped by planetary wind data.
Select a location to explore planetary wind data
Light the flame to observe the wind's movement
Download your own digital Wind Study
A meditation on interconnectedness
Jitish Kallat describes this project as an inquiry into our place within the cosmos, reminding us that whether in New York, Tokyo, or Mumbai, we inhabit the same systems and breathe the same air.
Ready to see how the wind moves you? Head to Google Arts & Culture to begin your planetary wind drawing today.
“Draw with the world’s wind to create a unique artwork with Jitish Kallat and Google Arts & Culture.”
