Can you hear this?

Can you hear this visual? If you can, you probably are a synaesthetic.

Synesthesia Research

Colour-hearing or Chromo-Synaesthesia is when the sound triggers an appearance of colour mentally. Most people with this particular type of Synaesthesia have repeated experiences. Certain numbers and sounds always end up sounding and looking like a particular colour.

Synaesthesia to me is a very interesting field of study. It's difficult to read all about it and not go in depth about it's intricacies. To see colours actually projected on surfaces all around while you hear some sound is what most visual artists might want to do. However, even though the results for each person remains the same all the time, it differs from person to person. The colours might change for the same sound to some other Synaesthetic.

According to a famous composer who was also a Synaesthete,  Alexander Scriabin all his keys could be coloured. Scriabin’s colour scale was arbitrary and personal, beginning with Red to represent the pitch C. Listed below are a set of keys he associated with colour.

F = Diversity of Will, Deep Red
B flat = Lust or Passion, Rose or Steel
E flat = Humanity, Flesh (glint of Steel)
A flat = Movement of Spirit into Matter, Violet or Lilac
D flat/C sharp = Will of the Creative Spirit, Violet or Purple
F sharp = Creativity, Bright Blue or Violet
C flat/B = Contemplation, Blue or Pearly Blue
E = Dream, sky Blue (Moonshine or Frost)
A = Matter, Green
D = Joy, Yellow
G = Creative play, Orange
C = will of Human, Red (intense)

The 20th century composer Olivier Messiaen had synaesthesia. He would often confuse the musicians he was conducting by giving directions such as "play this section a bit more brown".

There have been recorded incidents such as these. But unless you are a synaesthetic, it's hard to figure out what exactly you would see and how.

Synesthesia Research

People with a disorder called Synaesthesia have been known to see sounds since long. Every colour that they see comes with a sound and vice-versa. For them every colour has an emotion and meaning.  For example, quite a few synaesthetes see red when the doorbell rings. Few famous Synaesthetes who have created brilliant works of arts through sound were Russian painter Wassilly Kandinsky (1866-1944) and electronic music composer Richard D. James( (1971-to present). Contrasting Sounds and Yellow, Red Blue (Kandinsky, 1924, 1925) are both examples of what he saw through sound. 

"I saw all my colours in spirit, before my eyes. Wild, almost crazy lines were sketched in front of me." - Kandinsky

Kandinsky was a very well known artist who also was a synesthete. He saw music through forms, colours and shapes. Kandinsky was describing his experience of a condition called tone-colour synesthesia, in which sounds elicit visual sensations. In his paintings, Kandinsky tried to evoke the visual equivalent of a symphony.

Synesthesia

Synesthesia is a joining together of sensations that are normally experienced separately. Some synaesthetes experience colours when they hear or read words, whilst others may experience tastes, smells, shapes or touches in almost any combination. The sensations are automatic and cannot be turned on or off.

- Synesthesia is involuntary and automatic.
- Synesthetic images have a definite 'location'.
- Synesthetic percepts are consistent and generic.
- Synesthesia is highly memorable.

Can you see sounds?

This poster was created keeping in mind the previous 'research subject'. It was all about putting sound on paper. Basically to play with the whole idea of seeing sounds and putting them into visuals.

This was followed by taking a recording of a previously unknown language. A passage in Turkish was recorded and then converted to these visual codes.

Choosing the Colours and Shapes.

It was meant to be for the youth. So, the choice of colours pertains to the fact that they should be attractive to the youth. Shapes were chosen considering their simplicity. This, however was just an exercise and was not necessarily meant to make reading easier.

 

Then alphabets were then given to each of the 26 shapes.

The Vowels -

 The Consonants -

The complete set of alphabets.

  

Mapping of Colours and Shapes to the Alphabet.

Colour coding was the most obvious way to start at. To literally convert the alphabets into a system of pre-defined shapes and colours. To assign each with a visual representative. Basically, creating a new visual language which relates back to the original English letters which I am already familiar with.

Replacements of these sorts have been done before as well. The music composers have been using notes instead of alphabets. The Braille is yet another example of how visual shapes have been replaced instead of the letter.

Listening through Visuals

There are 5 major sensory organs, or better known as the 5 senses. Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell and Taste. We have realised through time and experience that our senses collaborate to give us an experience. They blend together, depend on each other and use each other to create a balance.
The question that arises out of this setting is that can one replace the other? Or if not entirely replace the functions, then just aid to produce better results when their functions intersect?

I am taking two of these senses to work on. Sight and Hearing.
The Dictionary defines 'to listen' as 'to give attention to a sound. The dictionary defines it well but, I'm left to wonder whether there is more to sound than what meets the ear! Don't visuals help balance out whatever we might have missed while listening?

I believe that visuals not only support the complexities of sound, but also intensify its effect. So, if they can intensify the effect of sound, if the sound were taken away, would they still be able to convey some of its meaning?

Can we really listen through Visuals?