Painting what can’t be seen
What if every sound you heard had a colour, a texture, even a shape? For American artist Sarah Kraning, this is everyday reality. She has synesthesia — a rare neurological condition that causes her senses to overlap — and she uses it to create mesmerising artworks that translate music into movement, light, and form.
In this episode of Visionary, recorded at Here East and hosted by Georgina Godwin, Sarah explains how she discovered her synesthesia, why she kept it secret for years, and how one viral Instagram post during lockdown changed everything. Now she’s collaborating with global musicians and conservation groups to turn the sounds of music and wildlife into powerful paintings that support endangered species.
She also reveals how her condition works — from seeing rain as blue static to experiencing orchestras as glowing colour-fields — and why her “abstract” art is, for her, a literal translation of sound.
Her Invisible Worlds project blends music with nature, collaborating with artists like Rüfüs Du Sol to capture the textures of bird calls and synths alike. The aim? To use visual storytelling to inspire a deeper connection with the natural world.
What you’ll learn in this episode:
How Sarah translates sound into visuals — and why electronic music glows brighter than any other.
Why bird calls are as rich and expressive as symphonies — and how they inspired her Invisible Worlds series.
What synesthesia reveals about the human brain — and how it might be more common than you think.
Watch the episode on YouTube below, or listen via your preferred podcast app.
