Synaesthetic Resonances in the Intermedial Soundtrack of Imitating the Dog’s Tales from The Bar of Lost Souls

As with most hybrid performances the experience of spectating Imitating the Dog’s Tales from the Bar of Lost Souls (2010) (reworked to become 6 Degrees Below the Horizon (2011) ) is a multifaceted one, consisting of an encounter with intermedial bodies, spaces, and technologies. Focusing mainly on the role of the soundtrack, composed by Hope and Social and myself, I will explore the ways in which it elicits synaesthetic experiences turning this intermedial work into a ‘playground’ of practice—where modes of seeing, hearing and experiencing cultural constructs may be contested. I will define synaesthesia through the context of its Greek etymology, scientific research and artistic practice relating it specifically to intermedial performance. I will go on to address the case study analytically building upon Josephine Machon's re-worked definition of synaesthetic experiences, namely that of '(syn)aesthetics', arguing that the soundtrack elicits a (syn)aesthetic mode of spectatorial engagement

Aesthetics · Art · Etymology · Human–computer interaction · Literature · Sociology · Visual arts · Computer Science · History · Multisensory perception and integration