Artwork description:

From my project "Synesthetic Letters"

Synesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. In grapheme-color synesthesia, individual letters of the alphabet and numbers are associated with specific colors and sometimes colorful patterns. While different individuals usually do not report the same colors for all letters and numbers, studies with large numbers of synesthetes find some commonalities across letters (e.g. A is likely to be red). A number of artists, writers, and scientists had synesthesia, among them Vincent Van Gogh, Wassily Kandinski, Vladimir Nabokov, Nicola Tesla, etc. Some synesthetes are reported to have learned how to apply their ability in daily life and work, for example, have used their abilities in memorization of names and telephone numbers, mental arithmetic, and more complex creative activities like producing visual art, music, and theater.

This project attempts to show how we, two synesthetes, Dasha Pears and Jane Kristoferson, view the world and see letters in colors, sometimes attributing additional concepts to them.


About my prints:

You’re about to take one of my works and give it a new home. And this is what I want to share with you.

My art is not for everyone. It won’t conquer the masses. But it speaks to people who value emotional connection, like to think, and want to see other realities and perspectives behind the mundane things.

My works reflect my journey from an artistically curious little girl, who was fascinated by everything unusual but had troubles fitting in, to a woman who found a way to express herself and to fully embrace who she is. My art allowed me to understand that there’s nothing impossible in life and that we have the power to create our own reality: do what we love, surround ourselves with the right people, and feel the things we want to feel. Now I want to pass this discovery on to you so that you always know that anything is possible.

What my art is about?

I explore the topics of emotions, relationships, self-discovery, and redefining oneself. Each photograph that you see here will take you on a journey into a character’s soul and at the same time, probably, will make you think of the events and things in your life that impacted you the most and maybe turned out to be life-changing.

What kind of feeling does it bring to your home?

Peace and tranquility. Strength and confidence. A grain of melancholy. With a bit of a whim, mystery, and fantasy. It will always be a gentle and quiet reminder that nothing is what it seems and you should always go deeper to perceive the true meaning.

How I work

I choose muted tones, strictly organized compositions, clean minimalistic spaces, and lots of symbolism to convey my ideas. Each visual story here has a definite plot but is always open to interpretation.

My Process

Each photo takes from 1 week to several months of planning and preparations: thinking through the story and the plot, planning the color scheme, sketching, scouting for locations, creating the props, choosing the suitable wardrobe, looking for the right makeup and hairstyle looks and then blending it all together. In most cases, a whole team is involved in the shooting process. I never use stock imagery to create my art, I shoot all the details myself right there on location. After the shooting is done, post-processing of a single image takes on average 5-7 hours in Lightroom and Photoshop.

My prints

I choose the most eco-friendly and sustainable materials to create my prints because I care for the world we live in. All the works are printed on museum-quality Hahnemühle Bamboo fine art paper and are Giclée prints with life-expectancy up to 200 years. All prints are signed by me and come with a certificate of authenticity.

Materials used:

museum-quality Hahnemühle Bamboo FineArt paper (290 gsm, 90% bamboo fibres, 10% cotton)

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