Synaesthesia, as well as cultural heritage in synaesthesia mindsets, plays an important role in my art and research
Synaesthesia, as well as cultural heritage in synaesthesia mindsets, plays an important role in my art and research. For me, colour, sound, touch, even smell and taste can trigger all kinds of synesthesia experiences. A synaesthesia fishbone diagram is my tool to map my synaesthesia experiences. These fragment experiences are integrated organically to become an abstract concept which leads to my art creation. My work is a synaesthetic experience in a ‘real environment’, which I call a musical-space-synaesthesia hyperstructure. It is like hiking up a mountain, involving all my senses.
Alcalá la Real 2022 
Sound & Motion Exhibition
Sound of London Tube
Oil painting on wood, 35 x 16 x 9cm
When I was travelling in the UK in 2024, I couldn’t agree more with James Wannerton when he said that the noise of the subway can trigger more synesthesia. For me, that rhythmic roar, especially on the old Central Line, which many people don’t like, shocked and excited me. When transferring onto different lines, these sounds made me feel as if many dragons are running and flying there. They expressed various emotions, sometimes angry, sometimes pleasant, and I really like to spend more time there.
This is a synaesthetic installation depicting a group of noise of the London Underground. The three different noises with entirely different colors, textures and personalities, made me feel those living creatures roaming around me, some spewing flames, twisting bloodshot bodies and making horrible noise in their joints as they move (the biggest), some showing a special beauty (the middle), and some even singing pleasant songs (the thinnest).
Designed and recorded by Ninghui Xiong, 2025
Recording location: Central line etc.
Photo backgrounds: Taste Tube Map Designed by James Wannerton with permission
License: CC-BY-NC-ND
Caution: The video has sound, starting from sec. 15.