Synaesthesia (n.) : A conscious sensory state, during which the experience of one sense (like sight) is linked with the involuntary experience of another sense (like smell or touch), which may occur in the absence of external stimuli acting on the second sense.
Synaesthesia (2013). Digital collage created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.
Medicine persists in labeling synaesthesia as a “neurological condition.” Yet those who experience it are often unaware that their perceptions are unlike those of others until they are told, and do not find them crippling, but rather an enhancement of their senses that they often enjoy. Synaesthesia is the creative zest of life for those gifted with it.
The imaginative possibilities are immense: numbers and letters seen in color; days of the week in space; odors associated with horn notes or woodwind sounds; symphonies giving rise to fountains of color…the non-synaesthetic artist might justly envy the synaesthete his perceptions.
(All artwork, descriptions, & other text created & copyright © by Eric Edelman. All rights reserved.)
{ 4 comments… add one }
Scents, aromas, musical sounds in association with meditation, audio or visual stimulation, memories, nostalgia.
Yes. However, these sensory associations are involuntarily paired in synaesthesia. Thanks for your comment.
Wow, what a picture!
Thanks very much!