Nothing signals the start of the creative and cultural season in Kuwait like marking our calendars for an upcoming Nuqat Regional Conference. This year, Nuqat further marks a milestone 10-year anniversary, and while the announcement has the entire region buzzing with excitement, Kuwait’s Nuqat-goers must be wondering how this year’s theme, focused on discussing the ‘State of the Elastic Mind: A New Mindset for Old Barriers’, will bring thinkers, creatives, activists, and policymakers from all over the Arab World to Kuwait.

All in the effort to better understand, properly critique and reframe mindsets that have shaped prevalent, and even endemic, social structures in the Arab world, bazaar has partnered with Nuqat to bring you this exclusive Speaker series, which aims to introduce some of the great minds flying in for the special 10-day conference that will take place at the Amricani Cultural Center this November.

Neil Harbisson’s experience as a cyborg activist will truly stretch your perception on elastic thought. By having an antenna implanted in his skull that allows him to perceive visible and invisible colors via audible vibrations in his skull including infrareds and ultraviolets, Neil is challenging how we could literally perceive our world in a whole new light. The Catalan-raised, British-born contemporary artist is the first offically recognized cyborg by a government.

Neil. Let’s get right into it. Have you faced any structural, social or personal barriers in your personal or professional journey? If so, what were they?

From the moment I began the process of merging biology with technology, I faced new barriers that I haven’t faced before. Bureaucratic procedures serve as a barrier for sure, everything from passport photos to security screening, as I have to explain to people that the antenna is part of my body and it cannot be removed. For example, simple things like renewing my passport was a challenge because passport photos in the UK do not allow any electronic products to appear in the photo.

Also, an ongoing barrier that I face daily mainly has to do with social reactions since people react in different ways when they see the antenna coming out of my head. People have different perceptions about the antenna, some thought it was a GoPro while others thought I was a PokeMon and they tried to catch me, so social reactions keep changing usually a spectrum of positive to negative.

What would you consider to be the starting point of your career?

When I started attending university in England in 2002, that was when I realized [how our experience of] music can be different. I had been studying piano in a very classical way in the beginning, but then the university began to push us to find new ways to express our self through music.

That was when I had my first contact with technology and that was when I started creating the antenna which would become my life. So I would say it was during my university years that I started merging technology and art.

Is there a turning point or an experience in your life that made you change your mindset or practice elastic thinking? If there is, please take us through that process. i.e. what was your initial mindset, what was the experience you were faced with that triggered you to change your mindset and what mindset are you in now?

Having a new sense and a new organ has changed the way I sense myself but also sense the world because I can now perceive things that my body could not perceive before.

The antenna allows me to sense infrareds and ultra-violets which are colors that the human eye cannot sense. So now I can sense colors that our species, well humans, cannot sense but other species can, so I feel more connected to other animals. So now I feel closer to nature because I can sense nature in a deeper way.

How do you relax?

When I observe people. I usually go to a café and watch people walk by. It is a way to disconnect.

What item would you put in a time capsule to help the next century understand our current moment?

A mobile phone, since it is the current object that everybody has.

What are you looking forward to the most about coming to Kuwait?

First of all, I have never been to Kuwait so I am excited to visit. Second, when I was growing up I kept hearing about Kuwait, starting from the war onwards, so I am curious to visit.

I want to avoid having any preconceived notions about Kuwait so I am refraining myself from knowing too much, as I enjoy knowing as little as possible about a place before visiting so my impression is created when I am there not before.

What did you want to be when you were growing up? 

I think it depends. When you are a child you are constantly changing what you want to be. I think I had different thoughts but I think the one that kept repeating was that I wanted to do something that was related to art, either music or any other performing arts. Then I studied music and my aim was to become a musician or professional pianist.

What would your superpower be?

The thing is what is a superpower? Because when people define superpowers usually they are based off of things that already exist in nature. For example, flying is something that many species can already do so I wouldn’t call it a superpower I would call it an ability. I think would never aim for a superpower, rather I would aim for abilities or senses that other species have like night vision. If we have night vision, we wouldn’t have to turn the lights on so often, which in turn would save more energy. It would not only benefit us but it would benefit the environment as well. So, I wouldn’t call night vision a superpower I would call it an ability.

Which book changed your life?

The dictionary. Throughout my life, I have enjoyed turning the dictionary to a random page and learning about a new word, as words give us a chance at looking at the world differently. Words are interesting to me because sometimes I would be experiencing something but I didn’t have a word to describe the feeling or action.  

What single thing would improve the quality of your life? 

My quality of life would improve if the quality of the earth would improve. So if the earth is healthy, I would feel and be much healthier, we all would.

If you could go back in time, where would you go?

When I was a teenager I lived on a tree for several days because they wanted to cut those trees down. I didn’t want the trees to be cut so I started a protest in my home town in hopes of getting the politicians to listen. Those days had a remarkable impact on my life, as I was living in a tree which allowed me look at life in a different way, especially since I was observing society from above. That action affected my life deeply, especially since those trees still stand tall to this day. 

Stay updated about Nuqat’s latest on Instagram @nuqat and visit www.nuqat.me for more information. Featured image courtesy of Neil Harbisson.

For more Nuqat content, see our dedicated page, bazaar.town/category/nuqat