PhD Research
I commenced my PhD in 2022 and the journey has been incredibly fun and often unexpected.
It has taken me all over Europe and around the UK, seeking, sniffing and chatting about the linking of scent with sculpture… It has been tricky to sort this body of documentation and experience into chapters, but here is a good go at it…
Reminiscent - Venus de Milo
In 2019, The Perfume Society reported that 8 masterpieces from the Louvre had inspired 8 World-famous perfumers to create fragrances for L’Officine Universelle Bull 1803.
Jean-Christophe Hérault was inspired by the Venus de Milo - 'the beauty of the marble goddess, elusive and notional, lifts up the soul with timeless bliss.’
When I had a chance I travelled to Paris in 2022, to experience the perfume with the sculpture… to experience those works at first hand, or should I say at nose and at eye?
Recently I discovered that the Grimsby Institute of Further and Higher Education had a full size plaster version…. I went to sniff her out too…. (Thank you to the staff and students).
Reminiscent - Age of Bronze
Whilst in Rome in 2023, I bumped into a sculpture, August Rodin’s Age of Bronze, seemingly plopped into the gallery space. This encounter perplexed me and I documented the humble figure. In Leeds, the following year, I came across another version, a pedestaled version with malachite-stained patina in the City Gallery, surrounded by Victorian gilded frames. This second tryst was so drastic to the first in Rome. I was reminded of the Venus de Milo and the olfactory incident in the gallery. I wanted a similar experience.
I found a fragrance called ’The Bronze Age’ online… I also discovered that there are multiple versions of the Age of Bronze and they are not all listed on Wikipedia!
This section of my research aims to connect this fragrance with this artwork, can a scent conjure an artwork?
Encountering/Sniffing
I am sensitive to smells, my nose leads me in different directions and my research gives me the confidence to ask questions about scents (This has proved pivotal on numerous occasions, as very often ambient fragrances require deeper investigation!)
Here is selection of my experiences… (I apologise to any gallery or artist who may not want a nosey researcher taking pics). I would also like to thank the many galleries, institutions and artists who have allowed me access to these olfactory whims.
Aftermathing
My sculptural practice has acknowledged the way scent and fragrance is utilised in artworks, how we introduce it, signpost it, distribute and experience it within the gallery.
Smelly objects from cars, urinals, wardrobes and bathrooms, like perfume bottles, reed diffusers and spray cans were all produced to dispense scent. All of these have a sculptural quality that has lent itself to further practical contemplation….
I also pursue the connotations of using scent, the connections made and the repercussions from these….
Autofragrances
I have always been visually and olfactorally ensnared by Chris Fincher’s film Se7en, in particular the SLOTH scene… the display of the fresheners, their impact is compelling.
The boundaries of autofreshener and perfumes is blurring, new companies are inspired by popular scents… cars are smelling of people. I like the sculptural designs of the more contemporary vessels, glass and wood, rather than cardboard.
Pomanders
Traditional vessels, rarely used these days and often found in thrift stores. These ceramic, unwanted objects instantly appeal due to their sculptural-orb-scented qualities… re-use, re-infusion and re-presentation… utter joy!
Urinals
These spaces have polarising scents, either reeking of piss or over-masked with toilet blocks, reed diffusers, timed dispensers and urinal mats. The experience can be overwhelming and once again, these tools of olfaction are sculptural and compelling.
Mobiles
I had been researching certain artists who use perfume in their work and the Mobile Labyrinths by Maki Ueda were compelling and reminded me of the ways we experience scent, we may try and let our noses lead us, chase a scent, track them down. The mobiles more slowly in the space and we have to slightly contort to experience them. I used found soaps and urinal mats to make this experience a little more bonkers, more preposterous… the car fresheners, with their colourful bottles also appealed. The audience having an intimate, yet physical encounter with each scent, within the space, I love the fact that their actions become performatory.
Soaps
I saw a work by the artist Trevor Yeung in Paris in 2022, a collection of soaps ‘ All the Chinese boys he collected’ - the assemblage and the use of soap was intriguing too. Some traditional restaurants in Paris also employ wall mounted soap. These qualities are ripe for sculptural and olfactory investigation.
Reed Diffusers
These are everywhere! Sometimes hidden, very often in your face! I am instantly drawn to their presence and scent! The reeds poking out, the coloured bottles and vessels spewing smelly wafts.
Diptyque even have a wooden version that wobbles! The language of scent dispensation is prevalent and worth investigation.
Collecting/Amassing
I love a souvenir, I like taking something home with me, a pamphlet, a postcard, an object of my experience. I love collecting too… amassing experiences with stuff. I like to display my hoardings, to depict a jangled journey with scented paraphernalia - as someone who used to be a visual merchandiser and window dresser, I find a comfort in showcasing these.
The Wake
This show displayed the statue of Grim and Havelock by the late Douglas Wain-Hobson in its ultimate state of disrepair. He was laid out on his back in the gallery alongside local press and other historical information, some highlighting the myth around Grim and Havelock.
The Wake represented the culmination of many years of research and debate, regarding not just the legend but the heritage of Grimsby town.
In the show, I was able to infuse the space, with the scent of pine, both with visual and olfactory references, naturally, via the small trees that were planted in the window and chemically with the Little Trees and Febreze spray to bolster the ambient smell. I wanted the smell to become associated with the statue, to form a sensory connection, perhaps instill visitors with an unconscious memory of visiting the statue. Marcel Duchamp and Mike Kelley have used pine scents within their works over the years and it felt right to link their work with the project.
Visitors were able to share their thoughts and memories of this iconic local sculpture and join in conversations about the importance of public works and how we endeavour to ascertain their importance as cultural markers within towns and cities.
Made possible with Heritage Funding.
Sanitizeus
I was in Athens, in the National Archaeological Museum in December in 2024. There was a hand sanitiser a few metres from the Zeus of Artemision statue - the smell from the product was sniffed as I walked up to engage with the sculpture…. I was forbidden to be photographed sanitising my hands in front of the figure…. the smell will become part of the memory of that experience… The encounter has been pivotal in making me think about serendipitous sculptural rendezvous, indoors and out and how cleanliness within gallery spaces is prevalent. I love the contrast within gallery shops, vestibules, toilets and cafe spaces.
I have been using smaller models of Zeus within bottles of scented sanitiser and soaps…
Another trip from Aarhus in 2023 brought another soapy sculptural encounter, students had poured washing up liquid into a nearby fountain.
Blue, Bluer, Bluest
Blue has been associated with many artists and artworks for thousands of years - with multiple connotations.
It possessed mystical properties, it was hard to obtain… things change over time, but does the colour blue still hold, for some, deeply powerful connections?
I was reminded of the Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain where Ennis finds Jack’s blue shirt (near the end of the film), he takes a deep sniff and tears fall down his cheek…
I have been collecting blue titled fragrances and when the chance arises, they have been exhibited with different blue tops, shirts, jackets etc… each with its own blue scent…
Not quite sure where the work is headed but I will persevere...
MINTervention
As part of the turntable gallery’s presentation at the Manchester Contemporary Art Fair in 2025, I scented the stand space with mint. There was also the chance to consume Crème de Menthe whilst enjoying the art.
