Synesthesia: Colored Music
INTERACTIVE INSTALLATION INSPIRED BY SYNESTHETIC EXPERIENCES, 2012
Rox Vazquez (AR)
Has a sound ever reminded you of a shape, colour or taste? The term “synaesthesia” is formed from the fusion of the Ancient Greek words for "together" and "sensation". Synaesthesia is a rare neurological condition in which different sensations perceived by different senses are mixed up. In one of the most common forms of synesthesia, letters or numbers are perceived as coloured. A synaesthetic person may have the capacity to ‘hear’ colour, ‘see’ music, or even perceive different taste sensations by touching objects with certain textures.
When they describe their experience, synaesthetes often talk about visual shapes on a ‘screen’ located in front of their faces. Through the use of new technologies, this project aims to bring you closer to an audiovisual synaesthetic experience. Using coloured shapes, a camera, a screen and a programming tool, participants can assemble a sequence of colours and a computer will transform it into an audio-visual experience. This merging of senses evokes the experience of synaesthesia.
BIO
An Argentinian graphic designer, illustrator and motionographer, Rox Vazquez started her career working in post-production for movies, commercials and video games. In 2011 she started experimenting as a VJ, using video mapping techniques and working with artists at different cultural events in Buenos Aires, San Francisco, California and Berlin. In 2012, she presented her Synesthesia: Colored Music project at Pixelations in Argentina. In 2014, she developed new collaborative digital installations called +++ and Biot-Hub, which were presented at the Let It Vj Festival and at the Cinematographic Investigation Center in Buenos Aires. Her last digital collaborative art piece, called SynBiosis, was exhibited at Espacio Pla and is currently at the Contemporary Art Space in Uruguay.