Olfactory perception, which is based on the olfactory nerve or nervus olfactorius (Latin olfactus “smell”), has also inspired the creation of published, edited, and multiplied works of art. Internationally, numerous artists have dealt directly or indirectly with olfactory aspects in their artists’ publications. This took place on the one hand through the conceptual examination and on the other hand through the direct occupation with materials that smell.
It is about the representation of smell – from fragrance to stench – conveyed as an idea or imagination in videos, postcards, objects or artists’ books. But the works also directly address the olfactory sense by smelling, for example, of sulphur, spices, rubber or paper as truly fragrant artists’ publications.
As part of Smell it! The Fragrance of Art – ten exhibitions in eight museums from May 2021 in the state of Bremen. A joint project on smell in contemporary art by: GAK Gesellschaft für Aktuelle Kunst, Gerhard-Marcks-Haus, kek Kindermuseum, Künstlerhaus Bremen, Kunsthalle Bremen, Kunstverein Bremerhaven, Paula Modersohn-Becker Museum, Städtische Galerie Bremen, Weserburg Museum für moderne Kunst, Centre for Artists’ Publications.