Art

The Purple Martin birds take flight—an ancient journey spanning over 5,000 miles across the vast skies of the Americas, beginning in the Amazon Basin of Brazil, passing through Central America and the Gulf of Mexico, to breed in eastern North America from the Gulf Coast to southern Canada, including locations in Chicago and along Lake Michigan.

They return year after year, tracing invisible lines etched by instinct and refusing to abandon a path shaped by memory and survival. Breathe is an homage to this remarkable migration, transforming the architectural canvas of ART on THE MART into a living sky. Through shifting light, rhythm, and movement, the work follows Purple Martin’s journey through changing climates, disrupted ecologies, and fragmented time.

As the world warms, climate shifts are significantly affecting this bird’s habitat and natural adaptation cycle, influencing migration patterns and survival, like many other species today, reminding us of the fragile balance we all share.

Through generative visuals, animation, sound, and poetic storytelling, Breathe invites viewers to observe the resilience and vulnerability of this bird, serving as a powerful metaphor for human disconnection from nature, encouraging audiences to pause, breathe, and reflect on our impact on the world around us.

Created by Pakistani-Canadian hybrid artist Faisal Anwar, Breathe builds on Anwar’s nearly two-decade-long research-based art practice, including his participation at the Labverde Residency in the Amazon rainforest, Brazil, in 2019. He collaborates with scientists studying climate impacts in the Amazon and North America, focusing on the migration changes of the Purple Martin due to climate effects. Anwar explores ways to incorporate environmental research and data to create poetic, artistic, and meaningful engagement that helps scientists share information through storytelling while connecting art with science, technology, and nature.

Credits and acknowledgement

Sound Design: Debashis Sinha

Scientists and collaborating institutions:

Joe Siegrist, President/CEO, Purple Martin Conservation Association (PMCA); Dr. Mario Cohn-Haft, National Amazonian Research Institute; Dr. Erika Hingst Zaher, Butantan Institute. Dr. Loren Buck, Northern Arizona University; Dr. Kevin Fraser, University of Manitoba; Dr. Jason Fischer, Disney Animals Science and Environment, and Texas Tech University Department of Natural Resources Management.* https://www.purplemartin.org/

Faisal Anwar is simultaneously presenting a solo exhibition in Chicago at the South Asia Institute, titled Common Sky, running from September 10 to December 12, 2025.