Sunday special: A photo exploration of synaesthesia

02 : 12 : 2013 Sublime Materiality : The Gourmand : A Synaesthetic Sunday Roast

London – When James Wannerton sees, hears or reads something his brain registers a taste. This biological quirk, known as lexical-gustatory synaesthesia, was the inspiration for A Synaesthetic Sunday Roast photoshoot for The Gourmand.

The photographs by Dominic Davies and styled by art director Andrew Stellitano are a still-life interpretation of what Wannerton would see to trigger the taste of a Sunday roast.

‘We took the classic pub roasts and asked James to give us his synaesthetic translation,’ Davies told LS:N Global. ‘He is used to getting a taste association from seeing something, but it was challenging for him to be asked ‘what makes you taste pork?’’

The resulting photographs show bubblewrap for roast pork with crackling visualised as a typewriter clacking, while a picture of John F Kennedy conjures up the taste of Guinness for Wannerton.

As the search for sensory experiences reaches new heights, people are becoming more curious about synaesthesia. For more, read our Synaesthetic Selling Update microtrend.

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