Synaesthesia Feast

The Synaesthesia Feast will take place on the week commencing the 19th of September.

The Synaesthesia Feast does not just intend to satisfy the taste buds, but to interact each course with audio and visuals to create a holistic feast of the senses.

Synaesthesia is defined as a sensation usually found in one sense modality that occurs when another sense modality is stimulated. Resent research has found that although not every person has synaesthesia, most individuals can make associations between stimulants in different sense modalities. For example most people will associate the taste of a lemon with a high-pitched sound, spiky font and bright white colour. The synaesthesia feast draws upon these associations to create a multidimensional experience that is part experiment part artistic endeavour. It aims to enhance the experience of music, food and visuals through the integration of the senses.

We are working alongside FACT to produce the event in their Gallery One space. A small group of visual artists, musicians and chefs, meet up once a week to create a truly multisensory and interactive experience. The feast will consist of four courses of food with music and visuals to compliment each one. We recently did a tester session at the Camp and Furnace. We made three different bites of food and had a piece of music to match each one. We then asked people to give us feedback on the taster.

‘The wild wirring in my ears oddly sounds just like the spicy stabbing in my mouth. Helicopter blades - burning. Totally different but similar.’

‘Music made the popcorn seem like it had a crackly texture.’

‘Vegetable popcorn! Ooh I felt a pop in my mouth.’

‘The deeper tones of the music made me focus more on the richer flavour of the cake. I felt as if the room vibrated under the bass which detracted from the food.‘

Funded by Liverpool (September 2013)