Nell-Lynn Perera is a Malaysian self-taught artist, poet, writer, art director and activist. She is a highly sensitive person (HSP) and has sound-to-colour Synesthesia (Chromesthesia) ¹
„Although I have painted figurative and realism as well, what I love most are abstracts. I’m drawn to painting them as I find myself completely free and liberated when painting abstracts.“
Her artistic process originates from having Chromesthesia.
The work on a new painting begins when colour and form start to appear while listening to a single piece of music. Exactly when that happens is unpredictable. It can happen after having listened to a piece just a few times, or after a song has played on loop a thousand times. Once a painting is completed, this specific song will never be the source of an artwork again and in many cases disappears from her regular playlists for good.
„Music is my main inspiration. I feel music most when I am still, and in that stillness, I see movement and colours.“
The art that emerges from Nell-Lynn’s process is very visceral, full of movement, energy and colour. It is art to be experienced rather than understood, leading to feelings that have been described as elation, euphoria and liberation.
“Ideally, those who view my art intently, will experience the same feelings of freedom and liberation from thought and perception I experience while painting. If I have any artistic ambition it would be that.”
Nell-Lynn’s inaugural solo exhibition ‘Movement in Stillness’ was held at Art Square Gallery, Kuala Lumpur and the opening reception attracted more than 200 visitors as well as media coverage on national television, on three radio stations and in multiple print and online publications.
„My work has evolved over the years as I evolved; it sometimes moves from one phase to the next in very fast succession, which has been interesting for me as I find predictability boring.“
Nell-Lynn has participated in Group Shows in London (2019), Lisbon (2015) and New York City (2 shows both in 2015 and a 3rd show in 2017) and has won multiple awards and recognitions in international art competitions.
Her work has been featured in numerous magazines and newspapers, including Harper’s Bazaar, New Straits Times, Expat and others.
Nell-Lynn has lived in Jakarta, Bali, Tianjin and New York and currently resides in her hometown, Kuala Lumpur, where she is at work on her second solo show.
¹ Synesthesia is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. It is a rare condition and those who have it are referred to as Synesthete. Chromesthesia or sound-to-color synesthesia is a type of synesthesia in which heard sounds automatically and involuntarily evoke an experience of color
