Olfactory portraits in Parma 360 festival

Abstract

Olfactory Portraits is an olfactory journey that is structured in a sequence of wooden crates for transporting works of art, of different sizes, which contain perfumes or smells. Each case has its own title which refers to the fragrance contained within. The title, in combination with the smell, relates to a certain expressive context, to an object or a personality. For example, it is the case of the smell of the sea, of birth, of war, of breath, of "artist's shit". Every traveling crate, with the smell or smell inside it, becomes a work of art. What is not considered or said is that a perfume or an odor can also be a work of art, depending on the context and the purpose for which they were created. The artist invites the viewer to participate directly and empathize with the created situation, as the smells affect the limbic system, the intricate set of brain structures responsible for our emotional life and the formation of our memories.