Tasting Colour

Some rare individuals possess a completely unique way of experiencing the world around them. Colours blend seamlessly with sounds, shapes, and textures, creating a rich tapestry of sensory experiences that emerge in profoundly individual ways. This fascinating phenomenon is known as synesthesia. When harnessed and utilized effectively, synesthesia can lead to truly groundbreaking artistic outcomes. But how do different artists leverage this extraordinary condition in their creative processes, and how is it reflected in their work?

Rei Kawakubo, Photographed by Martyn Thompson, Success And The Solo Mother, YOU Magazine 1995

Some conditions are immediately recognizable due to visible physical attributes. Others, however, remain invisible, manifesting within the mind and eluding the naked eye. Synesthesia is one such condition—a hauntingly beautiful phenomenon that results in uniquely vivid experiences. Biologically, it occurs when stimulation of one sensory pathway triggers involuntary responses in another. You might be familiar with this concept in a mild form, like how some people associate numbers or equations with colours or days of the week—7 x 7 = 49, which feels like Thursday, which is orange, just like October. While this is a simplified explanation, it captures the core idea: synesthesia is an individually unique experience, manifesting differently in each person.

This fascinating sensory overlap often results in heightened creativity and a distinct outlook on the world. The blending of senses can lead to remarkable artistic expressions, making synesthesia a powerful asset in creative fields. Whether through art, music, or painting, this cross-wiring of perception pushes the boundaries of imagination. Many renowned artists and musicians have synesthesia, and its influence on their work is as varied as the individuals themselves. Some see colours when they hear music, others taste shapes or feel textures when exposed to certain sounds or colours. Each experience is intensely personal, resulting in art that is deeply connected to their unique sensory world. Whether triggered by a specific feeling, sound, or image, synesthetic experiences evoke a flood of sensations—colors, tastes, emotions—like an intricately orchestrated performance of seemingly unrelated elements. Sometimes these connections make perfect sense; other times they defy explanation, yet they exist in beautiful harmony. Even when their relationship isn't obvious, these connections create an invisible link, a union so profound that one element cannot exist without the other.

Nothing blends more beautifully than the orchestrated sounds of music. It’s no surprise, then, that music often deeply affects those with synesthesia, a condition where senses overlap in unusual ways. One of the rare artists who has been open about how synesthesia shapes her music is the singer Lorde. She experiences a form of this condition called chromesthesia, where she perceives sounds as colours. This unique perspective doesn’t just influence individual songs but permeates entire albums. For example, Lorde has described her album Melodrama as feeling like a deep violet, a colour she associates with the emotional richness and intensity of the music. As she explained, the creative process behind the album was heavily guided by these feelings and perceptions—what she sees when hearing music directly impacts her decisions about instruments, lyrics, and the overall mood. In this way, her synesthesia serves as more than just an artistic quirk; it’s a powerful tool that heightens her creativity, allowing her to express emotions in ways that are uniquely her own. Rather than simply adapting to her condition, she fully embraces it, using it as a vital part of her creative toolkit. This sensory blending is particularly evident in the song "Green Light" from Melodrama. As the title suggests, Lorde perceives the song as having a vibrant green hue, a reflection of its pulsing energy and emotionally charged narrative. She has described the brightness and intensity of the color green as aligning with the upbeat tempo and bold emotional expression of the song. When you listen to Green Light, do you see the green she describes, or does the song take on a different color for you?

Another artist whose creative process is shaped by synesthesia is Kanye West, though he is less well-known for it. Like Lorde, Kanye also experiences chromesthesia, perceiving sounds as colours and shapes. He has spoken about how this helps him in both music production and visual art. Uniquely, Kanye has described how synesthesia allows him to visualize entire tracks before they’re completed, translating sounds into vivid, moving images. This sensory blend enables him to design music much like a painter or sculptor would craft a work of art. He has explained that the beats and melodies of his songs take on specific shapes and colours in his mind, guiding how he structures and layers each track. For Kanye, synesthesia serves as an inspirational framework, especially in the production process, whereas for Lorde, it’s more about blending emotions and sensations. Beyond music, Kanye’s synesthesia also influences his work in fashion. He has talked about how he approaches design with a holistic view, where colours, shapes, textures, and visuals seamlessly intertwine. When creating clothing, especially evident in the Yeezy line, he doesn’t just focus on how materials look or feel—he thinks about how they sound. This unique sensory overlap helps him view garments in a more dynamic way, blending unexpected elements. The simple, earthy tones and distinctive shapes of Yeezy reflect his aim to build a cohesive experience, much like he would with a musical composition. In fact, Kanye has described the process of designing the line more like producing an album than creating clothing. When you look at his designs, do you sense the cohesion he’s built through these layers?

Yeezy Season 2, New York Fashion Week SS16, Chi City Fashion

But synesthesia isn’t just a gift to musicians. Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky is one of the most famous historical figures known for having synesthesia, and it deeply influenced his abstract art. His type of synesthesia allowed him to both hear and see colours and sounds, and this cross-sensory experience shaped his revolutionary artistic style. Kandinsky aimed to convey emotions and music through visual forms in his paintings. He famously associated specific colours with particular musical tones: for example, yellow evoked the lively sounds of trumpets, while blue connected with deeper, more meditative tones, like those of a cello or organ. This sensory fusion allowed him to perceive a canvas as a musical composition, where every shape, line, and colour represented a note or chord. He once said that painting should be like composing music, a philosophy evident in his work. His abstract paintings feel almost like a symphony, each one orchestrated to evoke a strong emotional response, just as music does. For Kandinsky, creating art was akin to performing music, and synesthesia was a crucial tool in his process. His paintings, with their vibrant colours and dynamic forms, tapped into human emotions in a profound way. Through his art, he explored the interaction between colour, shape, sound, and emotion. Can you hear the music in his paintings?

Composition VIII completed in 1923, painted by Wassily Kandinsky, located in Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Artistic Junkie

Synesthesia is a fascinating and beautiful condition that offers much food for thought. Do you pick up on the layers these artists reveal through their work? Can you sense the connections they express, or do you experience something entirely different when you engage with their creations?