To Smell

From Laila Al-Hamad, The culture we breathe

The five ways of smell

The third in our Sensorium series reveals stories of crafts that bring the elusive element of smell into our world. The manner of this can be divided into five ways: capturing the essence of the world outside (to distil); imbibing our identity (to belong); connecting with places through ritual and performance (to evoke); wearing scents that accompany us through life (to adorn) and underpinning what we experience with our other senses (to enhance).

The guest editor for this issue is Laila Al-Hamad. Special thanks to Japneet Keith, Denise Neri, Anahita Anasseri, Atefe Mirsane and Maria Fernanda Paes de Barros.

Dedication

• Ross Gibson ✿ Listening to incense by Kathryn Bird

To distil

• The fragrant power of Dutjahn by Angie Martin
• The life of a rosemary distiller by Bridget Nicholson
• A bush alembic: To distil the scent of the land by Forest Keegel
• What could happen if we could smell the past?: Olfactory archeology in Pompei by Sissel Tolaas
• The rose perfumers of Kannauj by Dwan Kaoukji

To belong

• Nanamu as the Tongan sense of smelling: A tāvāist philosophical critique by Kolokesa Uafā Māhina-Tuai, Hūfanga Dr. ‘Ōkusitino Māhina, Semisi Potauaine
• Ka rongo au: In response to senses by Sian Montgomery-Neutz, Rangimarie Sophie Jolley
• The culture we breathe by Laila Al-Hamad
• Scent in 2023 Cheongju Craft Biennale by Jaeyoung Kang
• Monkō (聞香): The Japanese way of listening to incense by Sachiko Tamashige
• Lotus blooms and divine blessings: A spiritual journey through fragrance and festivity by Japneet Keith

To evoke

• Monumentalizing rituals of the Palestinian diaspora by Reema Abu Hassan
• A fragrant pilgrimage to the Norbulingka Institute by Japneet Keith
• The scented city: Incense making in Kathmandu by Gary Wornell
• Dhoop-batti: The fragrance rises from the roots by LOkesh Ghai
• The song of the actinomycetes by Priyanka Jain
• Surrounded by scent: Perfumery in the courtly cultures of early-modern South Asia by Simran Agarwal, MAP Academy

To adorn

• Secret(ion)s from an occasionally scented jewellery practice by Melinda Young
• Jewellery to cast away the evil of the world by Sepideh Ghasemi
• Design for the nose: A brief history of olfactory objects by Clara Muller
• Scented adornment in North Africa and Southwest Asia by Sigrid van Roode
• Cardamom is forever: Jewellery for the Sri Lankan diaspora by Inoka Samaresekara

To enhance

• Through the garden gate: Litrahb Perfumery and the world of synaesthesia by Chloé Wolifson
• Candles & Sticks by Manon van Kouswijk
• The scent of Korean contemporary craft by Hyeyoung Cho
• In Libro de Tenebris by Paul Schütze
• Smelling is believing by Liliana Ojeda
• Fragrant memories from Minas Gerais by Maria Helena Emediata

This issue is supported by the Australia Council for the Arts and Creative New Zealand.

You are warmly invited to our online launch on Monday 18 September 0800 GMT (time and Zoom)