I was recommended by someone to look at this artist called Russell Haswell after I explained my idea to them, and from researching into his work I found some interesting concepts that align with my idea but branch off it at the same time. Russell Haswell is an English multidisciplinary artist. He has exhibited conceptual and wall-based visual works, video art, public sculpture, as well as audio presentations in both art gallery and concert hall contexts. I was particularly interested by his work with lasers and he works a lot with oscilloscopes and the lissajous patterns that they can create.
In this interview with ATTN Magazine, he speaks about a “real time synthesthetic collision”, and upon looking further into this I found out about the world of SYNAESTHESIA and THOUGHT FORMS. Synaesthesia is defined as a sensory experience being stimulated through another sensory experience, for example you would see a colour if you heard a particular sound. This reminded me of hearing about Billie Eilish claiming that she can smell sounds, which I thought was complete nonsense at the time. However, Synaesthesia is an actual condition and affects around 2-5% of the global population. It is not damaging in any way, it simply means that people who have it can experience a sensory stimulation through the prism of an experience catered for a different sense.
‘Thought forms’ are closely linked with synaesthesia, and are basically graphical or visual representations of what is in the artists mind when they listen to sound, whether that be the same artist who created the sound or a separate visual artist. Nevertheless, this article that speaks on thought forms titled ‘Synaesthesia at some space and beyond’, refers to thought forms as “graphic scores in reverse.” They are intended to guide the listener through the experience of listening rather than abstractly represent the sound. The light show ‘Lumiere’ by Robert Henke is an example of a visual experience that guides the audience through a listening experience, which results in an intimate relationship between sound and image.
So to put things into the context of my own work, this idea of synaesthesia has been the driving force of the development of this installation without me even realising. It falls perfectly in place with my overriding them of an endless process of sound and image interacting in real time with one another, and I can now imagine my piece way more clearly as an exploration of the relationship between senses and how this can impact someone. I want people to have a unique experience where they too feel as integrated in this never-ending process of creation as the sound and visuals are.
As a result of this new knowledge and the evolution of my idea, it feels right to rename the piece, changing it from ‘Infinite Horizon’ to ‘Synaesthesia’. Originally, as shown in the title development above, I was thinking of ‘Infinite Synaesthesia’ but it felt like too much for a titled and sounded awkward when I said it out loud. I think the green and black aesthetic of the oscilloscope will work really well in a dark room.
I’ve now drafted a couple of sketches for my proposal, and I will finalise this and add my finished proposal in the next post.