GATES Evening talk - An olfactory encounter

Please join Helen Paris and Érika Wicky on a fascinating journey into the elusive and ephemeral world of art and scent. This presentation aims to explore the rich connection between smell and creativity.

Dr Paris’s research explores the shared ephemerality of smell and live performance. On the Scent is a site-specific performance researched at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bangalore, India, exploring the connections between the sense of smell and memory, and how olfaction can be harnessed as a generative tool in the creation and production of live performance. The intimate smell-based performance set in houses toured extensively for over a decade and has been performed in 14 different countries. It has generated an olfactory archive of hundreds of global ‘smell memories’ collected from audience experiences. While Dr Wicky’s research explores the history of the smell of paint from the 18th to the 20th century. It was a toxic odor, widely feared and present in many households. However, for artists, the scent of paint evoked the studio, its atmosphere, and the pleasure of creation. It not only stimulated their creativity but also deepened their understanding of the pictorial material. Although the relationship between health, art, and the sense of smell has undergone significant changes, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, its origins can be partly traced back to the painter's studio.