Synaesthesia was an exploration of how music can create form through visual art. The meaning of the word itself, ‘the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body’ touches on this idea. Throughout the five works, I aimed to create abstract forms of art which related to the aesthetic of five different songs.
The song speaks of positive and negative mindsets. At times we are on top of the world while at other times we are swallowed by our own defeat. ‘Man On A Fence’ shows these various emotions on each of the distorted faces seen on monkeys. Each monkey is represented with a different colour to emphasise the emotions seen on their distorted faces. As they sit on the fence, they reflect how human emotion is far from black and white. Human emotions always sit on the fence, fluctuating between different emotions frequently. The small lines flowing throughout this work and each of the works represent both the flow of the song and the emotions provoked by them.
The electronic instrumental evokes a feeling of loneliness through its spacy atmosphere while the muffled voices heard throughout the track allow some sort of humanity to remain present throughout the ten-minute journey. The artwork represents this through the two lone cars seen on the highway. Late night rides are very eerie and lonely while the occasional car that passes by allows the driver to feel comforted by these short interactions. The blue lights emphasise the futuristic vibe of the track while the abstract wavy elements seen around the border of the artwork help to visualise the lonely emotions of both the image and the song. Overall, the meaning behind this work is very abstract and its intentions are placed in the hands of onlookers.
The song speaks of the distinguishing features of those who hide behind a mask and those who are true to themselves and others. ‘Yellow Fluff’ relates to this through the use of a sea of canola. Canola is both beautiful and fluffy in appearance. However, underneath the fluff, the people who are true to themselves thrive in the shadows, represented through the alternative yin-yang symbol. Beneath the fluff and the symbol, a sea of colour can be seen. This sea represents the abstract concept of success. Each colour and hue are a different idea of what success is. The fluff covers a part of this sea as those who aren’t true to themselves are consumed by their ego and/or self-pity aren’t able to understand the subjectivity of success. The entire artwork is very hard to translate into words; however, its concept is easy to understand if an onlooker is represented by the symbol rather than the fluff.
The psychedelic, calming nature of the track evokes an ancient, mystical feeling and atmosphere. ‘Ancient Chair’ showcases the idea of a foregone world through photography and the artwork. Taken in a Chinese temple, a modern chair is seen resting next to the shade of an ancient temple wall. The bare, red walls gave the perfect opportunity to cover them in mystical, almost psychedelic art which can be seen in the artwork. When viewed deeply, vague depictions of kaleidoscopes can be seen in the corners of the work. This is an ode to the psychedelic connotations of ‘Turtles’ and the album it resides in; ‘You’re Dead!’.
The track’s dark-beauty is something very personal to those experiencing emotional pain and/or in need of comfort while others may find the song a bit too weird and foreign. The Spanish, breathy vocals are a feature that most aren’t familiar with in modern-day music. For others, this unfamiliarity is exciting and refreshing. The artwork reflects this stark contrast of a love hate relationship. Some may look at the work and find beauty in the dark, ominous beings standing on the coast of Singapore while others may find it ridiculous and displeasing.
EUANAU 