He can’t picture things in his mind — and he’s an artist

Key Concepts

• Aphantasia: The inability to voluntarily create mental images in one’s mind’s eye.
• Mental Imagery: The experience of having visual representations in the mind, often referred to as “seeing in the mind’s eye.”
• Visual Thinking: Cognitive processes involving manipulation of visual information, which can occur with or without mental imagery.
• Sensory Recall: Remembering past events through associated sensations and feelings rather than visual images.
• Abstract Thought: Thinking about concepts and ideas that are not concrete or tied to specific images.

The Experience of Aphantasia and Artistic Creation

Travon, an artist, discusses his experience with aphantasia, a condition he discovered in 2021 through a Reddit test. He explains that when asked to visualize something like a red star, most people conjure an image, while he only accesses the concept of a star – no visual representation forms in his mind. This realization challenged preconceived notions about art-making and imagination, particularly given his profession as a visual artist. He emphasizes that aphantasia doesn’t equate to a lack of visual thinking, but rather a different mode of processing visual information.

Beyond Visual Imagery: Sensory and Emotional Recall

Travon details how his creative process relies heavily on sensory and emotional engagement rather than mental visualization. While working, he focuses on elements like “weight, contrast, balance, and proportion,” actively feeling these qualities. He posits that many assumptions surrounding art and imagination are overly focused on visual aspects, and his experience demonstrates that imagination extends far beyond purely visual processes. He is “very comfortable with the unseen and the abstract,” finding a rich world of experience outside of internal imagery.

He highlights the importance of observation, learning, and reflection in his work. Memory, for Travon, is not primarily visual; instead, he recalls past events through associated sensations and feelings. He provides a specific example from his childhood in 1996, recalling a major flood in Indonesia. He states he cannot visually remember the flood, but vividly recalls the sensation of the high floodwater. This illustrates a key distinction: the absence of visual recall doesn’t mean the event is forgotten, but that it’s encoded differently.

Flood Damage as Metaphor and Artistic Inspiration

Travon describes how the degradation of photographs due to flood damage resonated with his experience of aphantasia. He notes that the damage doesn’t simply obscure an image, but creates a “new image” through the processes of decay, organisms, germs, and time. He finds this process “very poetic,” suggesting a parallel between the loss of original visual information and the absence of mental imagery in aphantasia.

From 2022 to 2024, Travon was an artist-in-residence at the National Gallery Singapore’s calm room, where he developed a project exploring aphantasia. This project specifically used the concept of flood damage photos as a central theme, framing both aphantasia and the damaged images as representations of “an absence of image.” The core question driving his work became: “how do you think, live, remember in the absence of seeing and in the absence of images?”

Multidisciplinary Artistic Practice and Acceptance

Travon’s artistic practice extends beyond visual art to include music composition and performing arts. He believes aphantasia has broadened his understanding of how the world can be “captured and expressed in so many different ways.” He articulates that discovering his aphantasia didn’t fundamentally change his life, but rather provided a framework for understanding his unique cognitive processes.

He emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance and appreciating the strengths and weaknesses of both oneself and others. When asked if he wishes he had mental imagery, Travon expresses curiosity but ultimately states he doesn’t feel a sense of loss. He concludes with the sentiment that it is “possible to admire without envy.”