An exhibition on Synesthesia curated by MA Graphic Design, Visual Arts, Camberwell College of Arts, London
Opening: 25th January, 6pm
Camberwell College of Arts, Wilson Road, SE5 8LU
The neurological condition, synesthesia, challenges conventional views about perception. Those who experience it are able to perceive a richer version of reality, in which certain senses trigger further, otherwise separate, senses. The name synesthesia literally means 'joined sensation', or 'sensation together', as different senses combine, this seemingly irrational coupling will shape the 'Eggshell Clangwave Oscillator System Looking Quiet' exhibition.
A synesthete may perceive letters or numbers as inherently coloured, numbers or dates of the year may be perceived as having a specific location in space or each its own personality, from the mere sight of a motion some synesthetes automatically hear sound. Through language we are used to associating sound with ideas, and the written word is associated with the sound it represents, but for the synesthete further involuntary sensations occur, they experience a deeper connection of the senses.
Graphic design at its richest thrives upon layered associations, the alchemy of a concept becoming form, multiplying the resonance of its meanings, revealing previously unacknowledged connections. A consideration of the highly subjective state of the synesthetic experience encourages an attempt to further these associations, to confuse and contradict the combinations of the senses. For touch, taste, smell, sight and hearing to be interconnected is a defiance of the usual view of reality.The relationship between multi-sensory experiences and creativity could lead to artistic insight - and it is from this departure point that the work of this exhibition is conceived, a new 'joined sensation'.