(Im) print: The Synesthetic Index

A word “Synaesthesia” is defined as combined senses. It resists back to Ancient Greek where ‘syn’ means “together”, ‘aesthetics’ is a “sensation”. When unrelated senses liven up with activated certain part of senses at the same time. Combined senses: A certain sense activation with another unrelated senses at the same time. These five human senses: sight, smell, taste, hearing and touch trigger memory and imagination in human body. Therefore, Synaesthesia is more than a neurological fact and it can appear in many fields.

The synesthetic experiences share a common philosophy in art movement. In fact, the synesthetic index is more substantive in fields of art. Art stimulates emotions, ideas and senses. The motion of a mind, feelings and senses are essential in art because artist becomes index who express their vision to the world and a synesthetic metaphor arise. Sensorial perspectives towards an artwork starts to shape. It is an uncanny situation, a way to understand human and art culture. In short all metaphors do not only appear in literacy or texts because they are like bridges to sensual and imaginary formations.

Every art is not a visual art and these synesthetic experiments or indexes can be seen appear in many various fields because they induce memory and imagination in human body, mind. Here the synesthetic index is given by a section of Susan Hiller’s film work: ‘The Last Silent Movie’ - 2007 where the lost cultural identities and languages have given voice again by her. It is a non-visual movie even it is termed as a movie. The index of this art work is sound-clips, voices of the last speakers. They are last speakers of extinct languages and cultures which are silenced, buried in achieves through the political issues and system, “Many of the voices relate the conditions under which their native tongues became threatened, openly indicting European imperialism.” (Alexandra Kokoli, 'The voice as uncanny index in Susan Hiller's The Last Silent Movie', Summer 2013, pg.2) As globalization and migration increased the pressure on citizens and political movements are changed which obliged people to be assimilated.

A short section of the ‘The Last Silent Movie’ played twice to be sensed in my lecture on the 14th of November 2017. To understand a notion of the synesthetic indexes; first time when it played we closed our eyes to concentrate to use our hearing senses because no sight trigger other senses to be sensitized, get activated. When we closed our eyes, we only heard a person speaking in unknown language or languages. I couldn’t even notice if the speaker was a female or male, I only perceived the toning of a voice, which led me to imagine their feelings and figure. The voice played an index role. The emotion I imagined was anger, effort to prove a point. This is a same condition with someone who’s facing back, deeply leading us to hear, sense his voice and speech without seeing his face expressionisms. In this case we become more judgmental, alerted for them because of no visual mimics. When the movie replayed for a second time we allowed to use our sight but this time the screen remained black, English subtitles appeared with no sound. In this instance my memory helped to puzzle emotions and senses which I felt from the voice with powerful subtitles. The similarities of tension, absence of body and unconscious occur on textiles sector too.

Elemental understanding of synesthetic index arises on textiles with a similar indexical forms. Semiotics and synthetics experiences in textiles carry more meaning and tendency. As I remembered from my textiles background, ‘why?’ was the most and main important question to ask before creating an artwork. The reason for this is: the secret of why hides under our subconscious and many synesthetic metaphors can be used to trigger our senses or reflect our real senses, thoughts with textile art. Textile is a visual art you can use many colors, materials, fabrics and techniques to point out your identity. It highlights semiotic signs and these signs symbolize your or viewers’ senses. Another important element in textiles is the matter and meaning you put on work. Yet this element can be manipulated with viewers (costumers). In other words, the way viewer senses two identical materials of textile works can still change the meaning towards those pieces because here you become an index. To summarize this fact: exact A4 white papers were given group of us to express our feelings by manipulating them into a shape and few people had come up with a same shape but made it with a different sense, emotions.

On textiles vision and touch are primary senses. We catch sight of the color, pattern of a fabric then desire activates our other senses such as smell and touch. The smell of a fabric may evoke memories of events. The different fabrics, textile techniques such as weaving, stitching can recall memories from the past which transmit desire to touch senses. Thus there is a relation between physical and emotional stimulation of the body and fabric. This can be one of the explanations of why certain fabrics or patterns are more demanded and sell out easily. However, media and commercial advertising contribute in textiles sector as they are governing many fields. For example: satin, velvet, lace, leather is few of the valuable fabric types mainly used in media to attract society and increase the number of costumers. These types of fabrics caused women to be used as commercial tools in mostly car, alcohol, perfume sectors. These advertisements are very sexist, stereotyped and insulting. Sadly, these led and still leading women to race with each other by these commercials and they orientate buying the fabrics, products that are used. It is bizarre how back in the centuries only certain people were allowed to wear certain types of fabrics, colors to classify their statues and culture. Yet we cannot say it has totally changed in present time but fast fashion, manufacture altered the factionalism.