Hallucinations, Perception and Art
Painting allows me to transform these fleeting visions into images of connection, harmony, and hope. Rather than fearing every unusual perception, I have learned that some of them can become the beginning of something beautiful
An important source
For as long as I can remember, I have experienced hallucinations. As a child I assumed that everyone saw and heard the world in the same way that I did. Only later did I realise that many of these experiences were unique to me.
My hallucinations have taken different forms throughout my life. Some have been unsettling, particularly auditory hallucinations that can make it difficult to know whether a voice belongs to someone nearby or is part of my own perception. Others have been unexpectedly beautiful. I often experience vivid patterns of coloured light that float, expand and move like slow fireworks or luminous wreaths. These moments have become an important source of inspiration for my art.
Memory, imagination and expectation
Rather than trying to reproduce hallucinations exactly, I paint the feelings and visual language they leave behind. Networks of lines, shifting forms, layered colours and interconnected shapes become a way of exploring perception itself. They occupy a space between memory, imagination and direct experience.
Painting gives me the opportunity to transform private experiences into something that others can share. A hallucination may begin as something deeply personal, but once it becomes a painting it belongs to the viewer as well. Each person brings their own memories, beliefs and emotions to the work, discovering meanings that I may never have intended.
These experiences have also encouraged me to think about broader questions. How do we know that what we perceive is real? How much of our understanding of the world comes from the senses, and how much from memory, imagination and expectation? My paintings do not attempt to answer these questions. Instead, they invite contemplation.
Memory, imagination and expectation
My Constellations series grew directly from this way of seeing. Just as people have long imagined pictures by connecting distant stars, I connect lines, shapes and colour into larger structures. Across many of my paintings, seemingly separate forms become part of a greater whole. Whether inspired by perception, nature, faith or abstraction, I return again and again to the idea that everything is connected.
I do not see hallucinations simply as something to fear, nor do I romanticise them. They have brought both beauty and difficulty into my life. Through painting, I have found a way to explore these experiences creatively, transforming moments of uncertainty into works that invite reflection, curiosity and wonder.
My Story
The experiences described here are my own. They are not intended as medical advice or as a claim about how others should understand hallucinations. This page explains one of the many influences that has shaped my work as an artist
