Olfactory Art: Extended Practice

Scent has a powerful connection to the emotional recollection of our memories. A familiar scent can take us back in time quicker and more intensely than the consciously chosen recollection of the particular memory. It conjures up the image of the time and place in our minds, as well as how we felt at that moment in the past. For a time, scent has the ability to bring the past into the present.
We use our memories to create a narrative about our lives. Our recollections are subjective and personal, and what we experience, remember or forget may differ from another. Certain details of events are recalled with greater clarity, where-as other details seem to alter, disintegrate or fade away with time. How we interpret and process our memories can play a role in how we establish meaning for the present and future.

Each papier-mached vessel contained a scent that related to the artwork behind it and could be inhaled and experienced as the viewer engaged with the images and writing depicted on the related artwork.