Sheri Paisley Highlighted in The New Yorker

Sheri Paisley has been highlighted in the November 3, 2025 issue of The New Yorker magazine. 

The magazine reached out to the artist regarding her condition of aphantasia - the loss of ability to visualize images - which was caused by a stroke when she was only 29, and how she learned to cope and create art despite this loss. Sheri's story is part of an engrossing, multi-profile article concerning the absence of mental images and how those affected experience and remember their lives.

The New Yorker November 3, 2025 issue cover art credit: "Racing Through the Fall" by Victoria Tentler-Krylov.

An excerpt:

"To [Sheri], the loss of imagery was a catastrophe. She felt as though her mind were a library that had burned down. She no longer saw herself as a person. Gradually, as she recovered from her stroke, she made her way back to painting, working very slowly. She switched from acrylic paints to oils because acrylics dried too fast. She found that her art had drastically changed. She no longer wanted to paint figuratively; she painted abstractions that looked like galaxies seen through a space telescope. She lost interest in psychology—she wanted to connect to the foundations of the universe." 

Read the full article, "Some People Can't See Mental Images. The Consequences are Profound" by Larissa MacFarquhar here for free with the creation of a New Yorker online account, online at the same link with a paid subscription to the New Yorker, or in the print copy also with a paid subscription.

Sheri Paisley and one of her beloved whippets at her British Columbia home.