The artwork for Rihanna's forthcoming Anti album may have seemed a little out of left field when Riri lifted the curtain earlier this month, but now its message is loud and clear.

In an interview with Rolling Stone published yesterday (October 20), artist Roy Nachum, who conceived of the design alongside Rihanna, called the superstar "a true visionary." He explained that Anti was the result of a unique sensory experience.

According to the site, Nachum blindfolded Rihanna in an experiment last spring while her own new music played, and directed her to three white canvases, in which Braille poetry by Chloe Mitchell had been etched. Rihanna then fingered the frame, unknowingly spreading ash around the canvas.

And when Nachum combined the experiment's results with his painting, "If They Let Us, Part 1," Anti was born. The latter work interprets Rihanna as a little girl in Barbados who's holding a black balloon and who has a crown covering her eyes, which represents potentially blinding power and success.

"It was very interesting to see how a person who doesn't read Braille would touch the work," Nachum said. "Her flow started out very simple, and by the time she got to the third one, it became very emotional...Sometimes you need to close your eyes in order to see."

And when Rihanna did finally see the finished product, she was totally sold.

"This is my favorite album cover ever," she declared.

Anti will be the first album ever released entirely in Braille and without text in the packaging, Rolling Stone reports.

What do you think about the story behind Anti? Are you into the finished product? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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