Aphantasia as a title might sound like the titel of a typical fantasy story, which, in a way it is, but there’s much more to it.
This publication includes text which I’ve written to be evocative, to trigger your mind to wander and create visual imagery in your mind’s eye. But this is contrasted with illustrations which are all black squares.
Why you ask? Because Aphantasia is actually a cognitive anomaly present in an estimated 2 to 5% of the population. As described by neuroscientist Adam Zeman, it’s the phenomenon of not having a mind’s eye or not being able to mentally conjure images or memories.
I also ‘suffer’ from Aphantasia, which is very odd in the world of Illustration. I decided to try and capture that experience in a publication to confront other people. I cannot see the epic castles in Game of Thrones for example, nor am I able to visualise Hagrid or Aslan. I only see black and grey textured mist.
