A, B, C, D, E, F & G

charcoal, graphite, watercolour, fabric and 22-carat rose gold leaf on canvas

each canvas 30cm x 40cm

August 2026

The first seven letters of the alphabet also lend their names to the seven core notes that make up the musical scale; the building blocks of all music.

My hand spells out the letters / notes one by one in Irish Sign Language.

With several musician family members affected by hearing loss and an ever-increasing awareness and emphasis on hearing protection in the music industry, my thoughts also turn to a close friend with profound hearing impairment who enthusiastically attends more live music concerts per year than anyone I know. I think about perspective, about the subjectivity of enjoyment, and wonder what music looks like to those who experience it in alternative ways, perhaps even through different senses.

And on that note - colour. I don’t claim synaesthesia, but I do have very strong and unwavering associations between certain notes and certain colours - G is definitely blue, A is shades of purple…and so on. I thought I’d tracked it back to a childhood toy, a one-octave keyboard with coloured frogs that popped up as the key for their corresponding note was pressed, but I’ve since found photos of the keyboard online and not all the colours line up with what I hear/see.

It’s possible I’ve filled in the blanks of memory over the years (with grey and brown though?), or maybe I’m a paid-up synaesthete after all - who knows…

G (left)

and

D (right)