Syn performance, North West University, IL, 2014
An example of the experience (which included studio visits):
Hello Marcos,
I wanted to thank you again for the time you spent in my studio and the time you spent with our synesthesia class. I was the student painting the men dancing on colored gradients... I wanted to email you with the story of what I experienced during your hypnosis session.
-- I couldn't seem to concentrate at first. David had done something similar with us the night before and i fell asleep, so I kept thinking about that and laughing, which kept me from concentrating on what was happening in the moment. I kept trying to concentrate, when you had our tongues fall through our throats and down below us, I actually felt like I was choking. I knew that perhaps then I was beginning to relax enough. You had our tongues taste colors... All i could taste was a dim yellow, I'm not sure if thats because the only light in the room were a sort of dim yellow. Then you had us begin to concentrate on sounds outside the space. At this point i may have begun to go in and out of sleep, or I was just very deep into the exercise but I had a very vivid image. I was in the hallway just outside the classroom, reaching into the book shelves that lined the hallways. Suddenly I heard the loudest noise you could imagine, and I saw a very graphic sharp image, like something you see in a comic book, something that would be the visual symbol for the word "POW". It was an ochre yellow color. The sound was so loud i could feel it through my entire body. I was suddenly back in the space with everyone else, and my body was pulsating, and I could feel my heart beat in every part of my skin. (some crazy shit) From then on everything in the exercise was very intense. The counting down of the numbers... the number 6 was so bright it was making the side of my face warm. It was red, purple and yellow. And my body no longer sat on the ground. my body felt as though it was spinning in the space, and I couldn't tell up from down.
I am sure everyone wants to always tell you their experiences, so I hope this is of interest to you in some way or another.
...and thanks again for a the help in my studio. Your work, and perspective have left a strong effect on me. Hope all is well, and hope to speak with you again in the future.
William Schweigert north west university graduate student taken Carolyn Chrsitov Bakargiev Class on Synaesthesia Nov 17 2014
Many students later came to collaborate on the Neurathian Boatstrap project in Istanbul.