Abstract
M.Tech. (Fine Art)
The focus of this study centres on the ‘condition’ of synaesthesia, which is a crossing of the
human senses, resulting in one sense automatically triggering another. Particular aspects of
synaesthesia, namely grapheme and sound-colour synaesthesia as well as the relationship
between synaesthesia and metaphor, are examined, specifically those related to selected
contemporary artists whose experiences have a direct bearing on their processes and
artworks. This context facilitates an analysis of my own grapheme synaesthetic-based
artwork. The research question is framed through a phenomenological lens with particular
focus upon embodiment, in that synaesthesia can best be described as an embodied
experience in which the synaesthete literally sees/feels colours, shapes and sounds. In order
for a viewer to understand a synaesthetic artwork, he or she must first familiarise themselves
with the artist’s particular type of synaesthetic associations. Once this has been established, it
is possible for the viewer to appreciate the experiences of that synaesthete and thus their
resultant artworks.
In this research, I conduct a critical comparative analysis of selected works by contemporary
artists Neil Harbisson, Melissa McCracken and Daniel Tammet so as to contextualise and
analyse my own body of practical work. Synaesthesia is still relatively new as a field of
research, since it was only established as a ‘real’ condition in the late 1970s. Therefore much
is still to be learned about the phenomenon, especially from an artistic, rather than a
neurological, point of view.
Being a synaesthete myself, this research is not only personally apposite, but it also enables
me to provide key insights into embodied experiences of synaesthesia through an analyses of
my current body of work and a consideration as to how similarities and differences might be
found in relation to the works of my selected artists. My work not only explores
manifestations of synaesthesia, but also addresses ideals of freedom and the notion of the
synaesthetic artist as other. By examining the way in which my selected artists explore
synaesthesia in their work, I hope to shed light on the embodied experience of artmaking for
the synaesthetic artist.