Kinetic sculptor Breakfast wants people to feel connected to other cities around the world through his commissioned piece for Art Dubai Carbon Wake is a first-of-its-kind kinetic artwork that is dynamic, immersive and strikes the balance between mesmerising aesthetics and an impactful message. Created by the Brooklyn-based artist Breakfast, the seven-metre-wide interactive sculpture is made of gold-mirrored stainless steel and uses artificial intelligence (AI) and real-time data to visualise global energy consumption from various cities around the world. The kinetic tiles react to CO2 emissions, rising with fossil fuel use and falling with renewables. The work will be on view for the duration of the Art Dubai fair (18-20 April) at the main entrance of Art Dubai Digital.

Alongside Carbon Wake, Breakfast is also showing a selection of six kinetic flip-disc works in his solo booth with Ace Art Advisory. Here, the artist discusses his process and intentions with Carbon Wake as well as the common thread across his works. 

Can you tell us about the concept behind Carbon Wake?

There’s so much happening with AI when it comes to art, where it’s generally used to generate imagery. But since all of my work is about stories based on data, I’ve been playing with how to get data that I couldn’t otherwise get by using AI. My team and I use AI to gather as much possible information from cities around the world, trying to figure out how their energy is being produced. AI gathers that information and compiles the data and then it’s translated into the piece. 

Can you elaborate on how Carbon Wake is using real time data to create movement?

Every minute, the metal tiles that make up Carbon Wake will move up or down at different speeds and intensities based on whether it’s CO2 that’s being produced and bubbling up or going the other way with the reduction of the carbon.

There will be a placard off to the side of the work and every minute it will download data from a different city and tell you what city it is. Then the piece will begin visualising that. It will cycle through cities—it’s not just about where you are, but that will be in the mix. It’s connecting viewers to cities all around the world.

How did the initial idea for Carbon Wake come about?

There’s a bunch of venn diagrams that lead to Carbon Wake. The main goal I have in my art is to tell stories through data. The shorter answer is I used to, for many years, be in a band. I used to write songs every day and I compare that process to making art. Sometimes I sit down and I write a song in a second, other times I spend years trying to figure it out. In this case, it was one of those sitting down and after 20 minutes and saying: that’s the story I want to tell.

What will people experience when they interact with Carbon Wave?

I want people to be immersed. In all my work I like to take very rectangular, square shapes—something you don’t expect to be organic-feeling—and make them move in an organic way. It’s what pulls you in. There’s something about that contrast that resonates with people. I want everything to feel incredibly refined and beautiful and expensive. But then I also want them to be tied back to the story.

How do you want to tie the people back to the story behind the work?

At first, I pull them in with something that looks beautiful and elegant. Then, to be honest, I want to sucker punch them with the story. I chase these unconscious emotional reactions, where visually people cannot tell what they’re looking at for a moment, and there’s awe on their face. Then they walk up and realise it’s moving and reacting to them, and then they walk over to the placard, learn the story of what’s happening and have another experience there. And that process that people go through, it’s fascinating to watch.

How does Carbon Wake connect with the works you’re showing in your solo booth?

There will be six pieces in the booth, a collection from different series I’ve created over the years. Two of them are from my Warming Seas series, which react in real time to ocean temperatures, another one is an edition from my Interwoven Existence series which I showed at the Venice Biennale this past year. I also have two more pieces from my Portrait series and I have one piece that’s new that’s using the same data medium that Carbon Wake is using. Nina Simone had a line that is something to the effect of “an artist’s responsibility is to reflect the times”. That is constantly in my head when I’m creating work. I also try to walk this line as well where I want to talk about the important issues, but I also do want to sell these pieces. It’s an interesting challenge—how do you create a piece that is about an important topic that gives you that subtle reminder every day, but is also beautiful, and you want it in your home? It’s an interesting and fun challenge.