Articles
A member’s story
The Empty Canvas in My Head
After decades behind a camera, a photographer learns his mind has never produced images, a discovery that explains his compulsive archiving, his instinctive way of shooting, and his lifelong habit of trusting what's in front of him over what's in his head.
Alexander Kesselaar · September 2026
A member’s story
What’s It Like to Be an Artist With Aphantasia?
An artist shares his surprising discovery of living with aphantasia—the inability to visualise. Despite being unable to picture faces or landscapes, he reveals how this unique trait shapes his creative journey, forcing him to work instinctively, embrace experimentation, and use photography, digital tools, and video to help translate emotion into art.
Paul Windridge · June 2026
Something to try
The Power of Abstract Thinking in Aphantasia
The concept of 'tokens' and 'types' helped me understand how we think differently: visualizers use specific imagery, while aphantasics excel in abstract thinking.
Tom Ebeyer · February 2024
A member’s story
I Am Aphantasic
Aphantasia is not something I have; it is something I am.
Ed Labine · July 2023
A member’s story
How a Visual Artist With Aphantasia Drew What She Couldn’t “See”
I achieved something I had never done before as a visual artist with aphantasia. How I “imagined” light in a dark cave with no mind’s eye.
Deleted member · March 2023
A member’s story
Imagination Without Images: Aphantasia and Science Fiction Readers and Writers
If you write speculative fiction, 2% of your readers might experience reading like I do—tips for reading and writing science fiction with aphantasia.
Kim Zarins · November 2022
Something to try
Visualisation and Why We Don’t Need it to Make Visual Art
Artists, writers, illustrators, photographers and all people who work with their creative impulses are not limited by their aphantasia.
Elina Cerla · May 2022
A member’s story
Interpreting in the Dark - Being an Interpreter with Aphantasia
I had apparently been doing the unimaginable: working as an American Sign Language (ASL) interpreter with aphantasia. How one interpreter learned to interpret "in the dark."
Diane Currie Richardson · February 2022
Something to try
Photography, Creativity, and Aphantasia
Master photographer shares tips for expanding your photographic talent with aphantasia in this article on photography, creativity, and aphantasia.
Chris Wooley · January 2022
Something to try
How to Write with Aphantasia
If you can’t visualize, how can you write? Write by patchwork. Award-winning aphantasic author shares tips for how to write with aphantasia.
Dustin Grinnell · June 2021
Something to try
The Art of Aphantasia
Discover the art of aphantasia. How Disney animator and 'mind blind' artist Glen Keane creates without visualising.
Matthew MacKisack · June 2021
A member’s story
Being a Writer When You Literally Cannot Visualize Scenes
How embracing aphantasia helped one writer unearth a novel approach to building worlds without seeing them.
Alexandra Oliva · April 2021
