Neil Harbisson

The Cyborg Antenna is a sensory system created to extend color perception. It is implanted and osseointegrated in Harbisson’s head and it sprouts from within his occipital bone. It has been permanently attached to Harbisson’s head since 2004 and it allows him to feel and hear colours as audible vibrations inside his head, including colours invisible to the human eye such as infrareds and ultraviolets. The antenna also allows internet connection and therefore the reception of colour from other sensors or from satellites. Harbisson began developing the antenna at college in 2003 with Adam Montandon and it was upgraded by Peter Kese and Matias Lizana, among others. The antenna implant surgery was repeatedly rejected by bioethical committees but went underway regardless by anonymous doctors.

The transdental communication system is composed by two teeth, each containing a bluetooth enabled button and a mini vibrator. Whenever the button is pressed it sends a vibration to the other person’s tooth. One tooth was installed in Harbisson's mouth and the other tooth in Moon Ribas's mouth. Both Harbisson and Ribas know how to communicate in morse code, therefore they are able to communicate from tooth to tooth. The first demonstration of the system was presented in São Paulo.

In 2014, Harbisson 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 Harbisson's brain. He correctly identified and painted the same color stripes onto a canvas in front of an audience at The Red Door, 10 blocks away from Times Square.

In 2013, a short film about Neil Harbisson won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival's Focus Forward Filmmakers Competition. Since 2014, a short fictional film about Harbisson's life is being filmed. In 2015, Hearing Colors, a black and white documentary about Harbisson in New York became a Vimeo "Staff Pick" and became the winner of New York's Tribeca Film Festival X Award in 2016.

In 2011, during a demonstration in Barcelona, Harbisson's antenna was damaged by police who believed they were being filmed. Harbisson filed a complaint of physical aggression, not as damage to personal property, as he considers the antenna to be a body part.

Studies: In 2009, Harbisson published the Human Colour Wheel based on the hue and light detected on hundreds of human skins from 2004 to 2009. The aim of the study was to state that humans are not black or white, humans are different shades of orange - from very very dark orange to very light orange.

Since 2004, international media has described him as the world's first cyborg or the world's first cyborg artist. 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. In 2017, he co-founded the Transpecies Society, an association that gives voice to people with non-human identities, raises awareness of the challenges transpecies face, advocates for the freedom of self-design and offers the development of new senses and organs in community.

In 2004, Harbisson's British passport renewal was rejected. The UK Passport Office would not allow him to appear with an electronic device on his head. Harbisson wrote back explaining that he identified as a cyborg and that his antenna should be treated as an organ not a device. After weeks of correspondence, Harbisson's photo was accepted.

Neil Harbisson (born 27 July 1984) is a Spanish-born British-Irish cyborg artist and activist for transpecies rights based in New York City. 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.

His main works have been exhibited during the 54th Venice Biennale at Palazzo Foscari (Venice, Italy), Savina Museum of Contemporary Art (Seoul, South Korea), Museumsquartier (Vienna, Austria), CCCB, Pioneer Works (New York, USA),ArtScience Museum (Singapore) Centre d'Art Santa Mònica (Barcelona, Spain), Pollock Gallery, and at the American Visionary Art Museum, among others.