Neil Harbisson

Neil Harbisson is a British-Irish cyborg artist and activist for transpecies rights. He is best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull and for being legally recognized as a cyborg by a government. His antenna sends audible vibrations through his skull to report information to him.

About Neil Harbisson in brief

Summary Neil HarbissonNeil Harbisson is a Spanish-born British-Irish cyborg artist and activist for transpecies rights. He is best known for being the first person in the world with an antenna implanted in his skull and for being legally recognized as a cyborg by a government. His antenna sends audible vibrations through his skull to report information to him. This includes measurements of electromagnetic radiation, phone calls, and music, as well as videos or images which are translated into audible vibrations. His WiFi-enabled antenna also allows him to receive signals and data from satellites. In 2014 he executed the world’s first skull-transmitted painting. Colours sent from audience members in Times Square as they painted simple colored stripes onto a canvas were received live via internet directly into his head. The first public demonstration of a skull- transmitted image was broadcast live on Al Jazeera’s chat show The Stream. In 2010, he co-founded the Cyborg Foundation, an international organisation that defends cyborg rights, promotes cyborg art and supports people who want to become cyborgs.

When he gets accustomed to the passage of time on his head, he will explore if he can modify his perception of time by altering the speed of rotation. When the heat of the sun reaches his right ear it is midday in New Orleans. When it reaches the point of the middle of his forehead in London it is noon in London in London. When he feels the heat in the middle. of the day in New York, when the heat reaches his ear in New. Orleans, it’s midday in the New York City area of New York. He states that we can create optical illusions in the way we can. create time in the same way that Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity can. He defines his work as cyborg. art, the art of designing new senses and new organs, and the art. of merging with them. He compares his practice with sculpture; his aim is to mould his mind in order to create new perceptions of reality. He was born with achromat vision and grew up in Barcelona where he studied piano and began to compose music at the age of 11.